Business and Pleasure
by DD42
Summary: They say it's never a good thing to mix business and pleasure. Sure, it's alright to indulge every once in a while-to break the norm and add a little spice to life-but after the night these two hired guns have had, can you really blame them for wanting to take it one step further? (Ch.3 of 3 posted...Written for a friend).
1. Chapter 1

_**Business and Pleasure**_

A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back to another foray into the Fairy Tail universe. For those of you who are familiar with my stories, I welcome you back. For those of you who are not familiar with me, I welcome you and hope you enjoy this little story.

Here is another crime AU that I've had on my mind for a while but never gave it much thought. I blame my most recent story-"VICE"-for making me want to write more crime fiction. So I thought, "Ah screw it, might as well just write this out and done with." I don't intend this story to be particularly long, more like three chapters at the most. I don't want to make this longer than they have to be.

This short story will focus on Jellal and Erza, two professional assassins who team up for a job that was supposed to be simple. But, as they say, no plan survives contact with the enemy and Jellal and Erza find themselves in for one hell of a night.

I should also note that this three-shot is a bit of a dedication/shout out to a fellow writer and friend of mine by the name of _**FreyjaBee**_. She has been a big help with my own writing and I wanted to write this as a show of appreciation for all her help and friendship. If you have yet to read any of her works, do yourself a favor and hop on over to her page. She has a penchant for delving into the dark and gritty side of things that leave you hooked to the very end. (Freyja if you're reading this expect plenty of references from me in regards to your own stories)

 _ **This story is rated "M" for mature themes. These themes include sexual content, violence, and harsh language. Reader discretion is advised.**_

As always, I hope you will give your honest opinion with your review and if you have any questions regarding this story feel free to ask it in your review which I will either reply to in the next chapter or respond to ASAP, or you can PM me; whatever works for you! Just please don't be too harsh with your criticisms…there's only so much a guy can take.

 _ **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail; Hiro Mashima and Kodansha Comics USA own it. If I did own Fairy Tail…well let's just say some things would be different.**_

So without further ado *cracks neck and knuckles*, let's begin!

XXXX

DESCRIPTION: They say it's never a good thing to mix business and pleasure. Sure, it's alright to indulge every once in a while-to break the norm and add a little spice to life-but after the night these two hired guns have had, can you really blame them for wanting to take it one step further?

XXXX

CHAPTER 1

XXXX

 _ **Everlue Mansion…**_

 _ **Magnolia Hills…**_

The estate of Duke Everlue was of your typical Mansion and grounds that had been inherited from generation to generation. It was the kind of place that just screamed "old money" or "I inherited all of this from daddy and didn't have to really do anything with my life"…that kind of place.

The mansion was located well outside of the city limits, set snuggly in the hills away from the hustle and bustle and crowds. Here, set amongst the pine, oak, and maple trees, one could find a sense of peace amongst the high brick walls, the wrought iron gate, the gravel driveway, the manicured gardens, lawn, and hedges. Here, amongst the tall columns, the white sandstone, the marble architecture, grand interior and exterior, and all the accumulated wealth that had been gained by the Everlue family.

On sunny days like this, Duke Everlue would spend his time out behind the house where the pool and fountains were located. Here, the man would lay out in an atrocious purple speedo that did nothing to compliment his rather portly physique (though not wanting to risk their jobs, paychecks, or lives, no one had bothered to tell the man). Drinking mojitos, all while his favorite opera's played from the house, Everlue would bask in the sun and enjoy the serenity his home afforded him.

And why shouldn't he? After all, being a shady business man with questionable ethics was hard work. He deserved some leisure time every now and then, didn't he?

However, on this fine afternoon as Georges Bizet's "Habanera" filled the air, the tranquility was shattered by a pained scream from within the house before glass was shattered and one of Everlue's guards was hurled through a window; dead.

He was just one of the cadre of guards that on this day, had the misfortune of being in Everlue's company. The trail of bodies started at the pool, where a guard floated face down in the water; his body perforated with bullet holes and turning the water red. Nearby, past the scattered mojito glasses, two more guards lay in similar states, their weapons still in their holsters. A third guard lay in one of the fountains, gun drawn but only having fired one shot before being gunned down.

Spent shell casings and wet footprints led up to the backdoors of the mansion where the guards that had been alerted to the gunshot had raced outside. Their bodies lay strewn about the back steps and near the trimmed shrubs. One of the back doors had been kicked off its hinges sending shattered glass scattering across the soft carpet.

From there, the carnage and destruction continued down a hall and into the back foyer. Priceless china, beautiful paintings, and hand carved marble sculptures and statues had been blasted and destroyed by a heated gun fight. But each guard that had responded to the panicked cries and pleas from Duke Everlue had met the same fate as their compatriots.

Bodies riddled with bullets, broken bones, and precise knife wounds lay where they had fallen. They'd put up a good fight but in the end, it hadn't been enough.

No one had been able to stop the intruder, who calmly adjusted his tie as he looked with slight disdain out of the third floor window and down onto the guard he'd just hurled through it.

"You got blood on my suit." The assailant grunted. He'd have to toss the jacket in the incinerator later, which was a shame, since this had been one of his favorites.

The man was tall, lean, well built, and exuded an aura that was a mix between professional and "don't fuck with me."

He wore a black suit jacket over a white button down shirt and pinstripe tie; the latter of which were all tucked under the low profile plate carrier and chest rig. Black pants and well-polished shoes matched the jacket and tactical gloves. A balaclava and a pair of sunglasses hid his face.

In his hands he held a suppressed, HK237 carbine; a variant of the famed G36 rifle chambered in .300 Blackout. Tucked into his chest rig was a CZ-97 semi-automatic pistol and a Fairbairn-Sykes dagger.

Satisfied that the last of the guards had been dealt with, the intruder reloaded his carbine, reset his hold on the weapons vertical grip, and continued on his way down the hall towards the Dukes office. For a man with such wealth, one would think that he'd hire top of the line security, not some goons who went like lemmings to the slaughter.

But, it wouldn't have mattered much, the intruder mused. Would it have things more of a challenge for him? Yes. Would better security have stopped him from reaching the Duke? No.

He always completed his jobs without exception. And he would never live it down if his reputation was besmirched by a few hired guns.

Finally reaching the end of the hall, the intruder gave a hard pull on the door handle and found it locked. From behind the door, he could hear the Duke's frantic if rather pathetic whimpering's. Didn't the man have any dignity?

But, then again, he didn't really care to find out. Absentmindedly the intruder realized that "Habanera" had stopped playing over the mansions house wide stereo and had changed to Giuseppe Verdi's "La donna e mobile."

With a sigh, the man raised his foot and gave a hard kick to the door. It buckled but didn't give. So the man kicked again and still the door did not yield.

"Oh for the love of…" The man muttered under his breath as he aimed his carbine at the door-centering the holographic sight on the handle-and emptied the magazine into it. Rather than exert the extra effort, the man simply decided to blast his way through the door.

Wood splintered, brass buckled, and with another solid kick, the door was knocked ajar. The office was just as expensive looking as the rest of the house, which for the intruder, meant it was gaudy as all hell. Some people knew how to spend their wealth wisely, others did not. Duke Everlue it seemed fell into the latter category.

Speaking of which, the intruder found his target to be nowhere in sight. He was just beginning to wonder if Everlue had managed to slip out through a hidden entrance or jumped out the window when a muffled sob was heard…from underneath the mahogany desk at the center of the room.

"Pathetic." The man muttered with a roll of his eyes. He slung his carbine over his shoulder and drew his CZ-97, cocking the hammer back with a distinctive and audible "click."

Making his way over to the desk, all the intruder had to do was walk around and peer under it to find his quarry. Everlue was a sniveling, tear stained, and wide eyed mess and the image only served to further his disdain for the man.

He couldn't help the smirk that formed on his lips when he saw the smartphone and office phone cast aside on the floor; the cellphone indicating that there was no reception or service while a garbled mess of static could be heard from the other.

The man reached into a pouch on his rig and produced a small black box with six antennas.

"GSM signal jammer." The man said in a matter of fact tone, "Blocks all incoming and outgoing calls and scrambles any security system you might have. You can call for help all you want but no one would hear you. You could hope a hidden camera or an alarm would alert someone too…but all they'd see is a ghost."

Everlue blinked rapidly, eyes darting from the jammer to the phones…and then the dark stain that was on his speedo became damper.

"C'mere you little troll." The man growled-disgusted-as his free hand lashed out and struck Everlue in the face, connecting with his nose.

The man didn't give Everlue time to cry out, even as blood ran down his face, as he hauled the man out from under his desk and threw him over it. Everlue tried to scramble away but he didn't get far; not when the intruder delivered a violent kick to the gut that left Everlue reeling.

"Please…" Everlue moaned, "Please…please I beg of you, stop…"

The intruder loomed over Everlue, finger tapping the trigger guard of his pistol as if to say he would hear the man out. Everlue raised his hands in a pleading manner.

"I can pay you…whatever this is about, whoever is paying you, I can pay you more. Double. Triple. Quadruple. Name your price and I'll pay you, just please don't kill me!"

"…Yes…I'm sure you could pay whatever amount I'd ask for. But you see Duke Everlue, someone put a contract out on you and I intend to honor that agreement. Unlike you, a man who's made a living out of defrauding and stealing from others, I keep and honor my word."

"Contract!? Who would put a contract out on me!? Yes, I've swindled a few people in my time but I've done nothing that warrants this! Please, just take whatever you want and I'll disappear, you'll never hear of me again; I promise!"

" _Shut. Up."_ The man said, his voice colder than winter's air, "Begging like a little bitch will do nothing for you."

Everlue only whimpered in response, his mind frantically trying to figure out a way to get him out this living nightmare.

"You honestly have no idea what this is about?" The man asked to which he received a frantic shake of the head. Sighing, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up a video message.

"Then let me remind you." He said, facing the screen at Everlue.

The screen was black for a second or two before the message began to play. It revealed a rather rough looking man with wild hair and a scar over his right eye.

" _Hello Duke Everlue,"_ The man began, _"My name is Erik but you probably know of me by my other name; Cobra."_

There wasn't a man or woman in the criminal underworld that hadn't heard of Cobra. He was one of the most skilled assassins in the business and despite the expensive price tag that followed him, his work was something that was both admired and in demand by those in the criminal underworld.

" _You've never met me and I've never wanted to offer my services to you. However, I do know of you…and of your dirty little habits. You see, you came to my attention about-oh, say-two weeks ago when you met a "friend" of mine. Hence the reason why my good friend here is paying you a visit._

 _In case you haven't figured it out yet, that "friend" I mentioned is a woman named Kinana. But, then again, I don't expect you to remember her. After all, why would you? I mean, she's nothing more than some whore you hired for a night of fun, right?"_

"Her!?" Everlue blurted out, "This is all over that little skank ass whore!?"

The intruder raised his gun, effectively silencing Everlue. Cobra glowered at the camera as his eyes took on a deadly and dangerous edge.

" _From what I understand, that night of fun didn't go as planned did it? Sure, she let you have your way with her but she only let you get so far. After all, like most professional ladies of the night, she has terms of service that need to be adhered to. For the things you wanted to do her, you would have to pay extra._

 _But considering all of the money you have, you were too cheap to spend a couple of extra bucks on a prostitute. You pressed on and she rebuked you; she slapped you right across the face and attempted to leave. Did that bruise your ego? Make you feel like less of a man? I believe her words were, 'He said, 'Don't walk away from me you little whore.'' So you had your guards stop her, bring her back kicking and screaming…and then you had them hold her down as you violated her again. And again. And again. Hell, you even let your guards join in. But that wasn't enough was it. You knew she'd go to the cops or someone else and talk, and you couldn't let that happen. So you beat her within an inch of her life and tried to strangle her. When you thought she was dead, you dumped her on the side of the road, naked, bloodied, broken, and in the rain near death. If not for a passing motorist, Kinana would've died."_

Cobra had become more and more infuriated as he spoke, his eyes becoming wild with rage while the veins bulged on his neck and temple. And just as he was seemingly about to snap, he managed to reign himself in and took a series of calming breathes. That did nothing to stop the look of utter contempt he directed at Everlue.

" _Well let me tell you something Duke Everlue…Kinana…is my girlfriend. My woman. And I don't appreciate what you did to her. I have enough of a reputation in this city that people know not to fuck with me or my girl. But apparently, somewhere along the lines, you missed the memo or just didn't care to know. Either way, no one hurts my Kinana and gets away with it…alive._

 _So…I put a contract out on you; one my good friend was all too happy to take. You're probably getting acquainted with him as we speak. I'd deal with you myself but Kinana's recovery is my number one priority at the moment, so count your blessings that I didn't get my hands on you. That being said, however, you're still going to die. So with that, I bid you adieu Duke Everlue. But, before I go…"_

The camera then panned to the right to reveal a woman with short purple hair and an equally intense glare fixed on the camera. Even two weeks later, her head and right eye were still bandaged, as was her throat. But beneath the bandages, the dulling bruises of hand prints could still be seen on her pale skin. Tears streamed from her good eye and she began to quiver in anger.

" _Anything you'd like to say to the Duke, Kinana?"_ Cobra asked.

"… _Burn…in…hell…you…son…of…a…bitch…"_ Kinana managed to rasp out and then the message ended. The intruder pocketed his phone and gave his hand a slight squeeze, making the knuckles pop.

"Erik, Kinana, and I go way back. We've known each other since we were kids and have been through some pretty crazy shit together. When they finally got together, I was happy for them. I really was…and still am. This life doesn't leave much room for lasting relationships so it's always nice to see someone break the mold here and there.

I wasn't thrilled when Kinana decided to become a prostitute but she's paid well for what she does and uses that money wisely so she can make a better life for herself and Erik. I mean, do you really think someone would want to be a professional whore or killer for all of their life? Depending on who you ask, you get a mixed bag of answers, but for Erik and Kinana; the answer is no. What you did to Kinana may very well have ruined her chances at finding whatever happiness she's been looking for herself and Erik. And that's something that doesn't sit well with me.

So when I found out what you did to her-what she and Erik told me- and when Erik took out his contract on you and hired me…you can bet I was all too damn happy to take the job. And so, I've spent the last week learning your habits and following you around…waiting, just waiting….for this moment."

The intruder straightened his posture and slowly performed a brass check on his pistol. He then, just as slowly, took aim. It was then that Everlue realized what was about to happen and he went into a frenzy.

"No…No...NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, PLEASE GOD NO! PLEASE; I'M SORRY!" Everlue screamed, "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I BEG OF YOU, PLEASE NO!"

"I'd say this wasn't personal but that would be a lie."

And with that, the intruder emptied ten rounds of .45 ACP into Duke Everlue. Five in the chest; five in the head. There would be quite the mess for the crime scene technicians when they finally got out here…whenever someone cared enough to notice Everlue was missing.

When the gun smoke settled, the intruder stood over Everlue's body for a few, silent minutes, starring down at the corpse with equal parts disdain and relief. Everlue was dead and the jammer had done its job, preventing things from getting out of hand.

Mission accomplished.

Slapping a new magazine home into his pistol, the man collected himself and made his way back out of the mansion and retraced his steps. He walked past the bodies and destruction without so much as a second glance before finally scaling the ivy on the back wall-like he'd done on his way in-and went back into the forest. An hour later, he was back on the forgotten service road that no one had bothered to patrol or guard.

The man removed his body armor, equipment, balaclava, and along with his weapons, tucked them into the trunk of his blue and white 1970 Chevelle SS.

Sitting in the driver's seat, the rear view mirror offered a clear picture of what the balaclava had kept hidden. Despite the sweat that had formed on his brow, he was a rather handsome looking man with unruly blue hair and red facial tattoo set over his right eye. His dark, piercing eyes were still hidden behind the sunglasses.

As he sped down the service road and onto the main highway, the man dug out his phone and redialed the number attached to the message he played for Everlue. The phone only rang once before it was answered.

"It's finished." The man said, not waiting for Erik to speak.

"Thank you." Erik sighed in relief, "I don't know how to thank you for this. I…I owe you big time on this one man."

"That's right, you do owe me." The man replied, "I trust you'll make yourself available should I ever call on you?"

"You know I will."

"Just checking. The contract has been completed, transfer the payment to my account." The man said with a slight smirk before adding, "How is she?"

"She's…holding it together. She hasn't left my place since she got released from the hospital and I've been keen on keeping her here. I knew this could've happened to her…I just never expected it to. I built my entire reputation for her sake and all it took was for one shit head to ruin it for her."

"You going to let her go back to the brothel?" He asked.

"…No." Erik replied after a slight pause, "Call me possessive but I'm not letting her out of my sight any time soon. Besides, her Tante wouldn't be allow to work anyways. Not with her current condition. I'm thinking of taking one more job and then moving shop…maybe, take a break from all of this and take Kinana someplace quiet. Someplace far from here and this life."

"The dream of every assassin who's ever lived. This job doesn't let you go Erik, you know that right?"

"I can still try and dream can't I?" Erik quipped, making him smirk with a slight snort.

"I'll call you if I ever need to cash in that favor."

"I'll await your call. Goodbye my friend…oh, wait. She wants to say something to you."

There was another pause, the sound of the phone exchanging hands, before Kinana spoke.

"Thank…you…Jellal…" Kinana's voice was half hoarse, half sob.

Jellal smiled softly, "Anytime Kinana. Take care of yourself and get better soon, alright?"

"I…will…" Kinana rasped and hung up the phone.

Jellal sighed heavily and set his phone aside on the passenger seat, not wanting a cop to spot him and pull him over. Looking in his rearview mirror once more, Jellal wondered what a cop would see, should he ever get pulled over.

Would the officer see Jellal Fernandes, the freelance lawyer to the rich and well to do?

Or would he see Jellal Fernandes, the highly regarded hired killer of the Fairy Tail assassin's guild?

Even Jellal himself asked himself that question. Who does he see when he looks at himself in the mirror…the man? Or the killer? Truth be told, he still hasn't found an answer and he doesn't suspect he ever will.

XXXX

 _ **Four weeks later…**_

" _In other news,"_ the voice of the news anchor filled his apartment, _"the body of Duke Everlue was discovered today at his estate early this morning when a landscaping company employed by the Duke arrived at the property. The police were summarily called to the scene and have launched a full investigation, calling this case a homicide. At this time, there are no leads and no evidence as to who committed such a violent and brutal crime. We'll have more on this story as it develops; back to you Jim."_

Jellal smirked and shook his head, changing the channel on the flat screen and returning his attention to the case he had picked up as part of his duties as a lawyer. It was a standard affair, some rich socialite walks in on her husband having an affair with a younger woman, pandemonium ensues, and now she's filling for divorce and wants every penny she can milk out of the "cheating bastard"…as she had so eloquently put it.

Jellal would have found the whole thing entertaining had he hadn't done this song and dance one too many times to count. It was always the same thing: cheating spouses, stupidity leading to bad decisions, midlife crises gone awry, so on and so forth; whatever the hell trouble the rich got themselves into, Jellal was there to offer his legal counsel and investigative expertise.

The good thing about being a freelance lawyer was that he could pick and choose his clients, how much he was charged, and make his own hours. It was a rather easy life that offered just enough challenge to keep him occupied. But compared to his work as an assassin, his work as a lawyer could be considered a side gig that helped bring in a little extra cash. Killing and delivering pain via the business end of a gun was where the real work was at.

He hadn't had a client sent his way since he dealt with Everlue so upon seeing he had a little down time, Jellal figured he'd take a case just to pass the time. The current case he was working on was pretty open and shut as far as he was concerned. He'd dug up some dirt on the husband-a dirty secret or two-that he could use in court, he could get the wife the outcome she wanted, and he'd get paid double in the end. Hell, maybe the now ex-wife would offer to buy him a drink to celebrate…and then take him for a romp in the sack. It wouldn't have been the first time he and a client had "celebrated."

She was still quite beautiful for her age and if there was one thing he admired in a woman, it was experience. Besides, his client probably wouldn't mind having a little excitement pumped back into her life…both figuratively and literally, Jellal thought with a smirk and rolled his eyes at himself. He was fucked up and he knew it.

…Like he said; open and shut.

His second phone buzzed to life and a quick glance at the caller ID read: "Old Man."

"Yeah boss?" Jellal asked, addressing his handler and guild master; Makarov Dreyar.

An old time assassin whose exploits were legendary in both the national and international underworlds, Makarov Dreyar could be best described as the cranky grandfather that everyone loved. He was also thae crank grandfather that could kill you and bury you in a place that'd you'd never be found…so there was that too.

"Put on your finest boy, I've got a possible job coming your way." Makarov's grizzled voice filled his ear.

"Where am I heading and who's asking?" Jellal said as he closed the case file and grabbed his work phone, texting his client that something urgent had come up and he'd have to put her case on hold.

"Tante Irene." Makarov said, making Jellal pause, "She'll be expecting you at The Rose."

Domus Rosis, "The House of Roses", or "The Rose" as it was more simply known, was an out of the way place even for a part of the city that most people tended to avoid. It was a legal brothel that catered to all forms of clientele and dabbled in some taboos that made even the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

But, the fact that the legendary Irene Belserion herself was calling on him made even his blood chill…as it usually did when she called upon him. The woman was one of the leading crime bosses in the city and she had developed such a reputation that every criminal from the lowly drug dealers to her fellow bosses, paid some measure of respect to Tante Irene.

Rumor had it that her reach went all the way to the government in Crocus. But, she never did confirm nor deny that rumor so who knew to be perfectly honest.

"Why me?" Jellal asked, snapping back to reality when Makarov cleared his throat slightly.

"She asked for you, simple as that. It seems the work you did for her in the past is finally starting to pay off; your reputation is proceeding you." Makarov said with a hint of admiration.

"Besides, Laxus and Mira are still on their honeymoon; Cana and Lisanna are already on assignment; Elfman and Evergreen are working a combined job with Freed and Bickslow; Alzack and Bisca took Asuka with them on vacation; Gray is at home helping Juvia with the baby; Gajeel requested time off to be with Wendy, Levy, and the twins; and Natsu is still hired on as a bodyguard for Lucy Heartfilia…the two of them were going at it like rabbits the last I checked in with him. So that leaves you."

"…You know, when you spell it out like that, it makes it sound like we lead almost normal lives." Jellal commented dryly.

"And did you really have to mention that about Natsu? The guy is weird enough as it is and I really don't need to know what his sex life is like."

"Quite and yes; yes I did." Makarov said flippantly, "So put on your finest for the Tante and don't keep her waiting. I don't want you to be put on the chopping block for rubbing her the wrong way."

"I'm happy to know you care." Jellal quipped.

"Nah, I just don't want that crazy bitch taking it out on me should anything happen." Jellal could practically hear the old man's grin while he scratched his nose.

"Nice. So glad to know you care."

"Oh quit being such a baby and get going." Makarov scoffed and ended the call. Jellal gave a wry chuckle and made his way to his room, a slight smirk on his lips.

Today was shaping up to be an interesting day. Because wherever Tante Irene was… _she_ was bound to be nearby.

XXXX

 _ **Domus Rosis…**_

 _ **Magnolia's Westside…**_

The Rose was located at the heart of the old industrial district. Once a thriving part of the city back in Magnolia's industrial heyday, the Westside had fallen into destitution just as quickly as it had risen to prominence. Abandoned buildings, factories, low rent housing and tenements were populated by gangs, vagrants, the homeless, people who'd fallen on hard times…and those who preferred to hide in the shadows.

Parking his Chevelle, Jellal stepped out and took in the abandoned school building-wedged between two old brick office buildings-before him. The place that had once served as a beacon of education to the inner city had now become a den of sin and ill repute; its classrooms converted to private rooms, viewing areas, and who knew what else. Officially the place belonged to Tante Porlyusica Genevieve, a veteran matron and all around badass. He'd worked for her in the past and she had always been good to him…despite her rather cranky attitude (and he used the word cranky to be polite). Unofficially, The Rose belonged to Tante Irene. She was the one who held the power here; Porlyusica was her second in command, so to speak.

Either way…they were the wolves and he was about to walk into their den.

Jellal locked his car but wasn't too worried about leaving it out in the open. After all, there was a Maserati, BMW, Aston Martin, and other expensive looking cars also parked in the lot. Everyone who lived in this part of town knew to stay away from The Rose. Tante Irene ensured that her patrons and clients were taken care of and he knew she had someone watching the parking lot; more than likely with a high powered rifle. Hell, he could practically feel the crosshairs zero in on his head.

But, keeping his cool, Jellal made his way to the front entrance. Entering the main foyer, Jellal was always surprised by how the inside was the complete opposite of the exterior. Dark lighting, expensive furniture, a desk managed by a woman that wore a dress that much too skimpy, and the walls were adorned with various pieces of erotic art. The woman looked up from her laptop and gave Jellal an appraising smile.

"Can I help you sir?" She asked, sweetly.

"I have a meeting with Tante Irene. I believe she's expecting me." Jellal replied.

"Your name?"

"Jellal Fernandes."

The woman glanced down to her computer, "Password?"

"Magnifique." He said without missing a beat.

The woman smiled in a sultry manner, "Welcome back Mister Fernandes. Tante Irene will join you shortly in her office. I trust you know where to go?"

"The old office overlooking the gym." Jellal said.

"I'll let her guard know you're coming." The woman said and gestured to the nearby stairwell.

Jellal didn't reply, he simply turned on his heel, and made his way up the nearby steps. He'd taken the route enough times to know where to go. The walk wasn't long nor was it short but one could get lost if they let the sounds of debauchery, sensual music, and general air of perverseness get to them. The first time he'd been to The Rose he had nearly been dragged in to a threesome when he stopped and stared into one of the rooms that had been left open.

He had been so shocked by what he'd seen that he'd forgotten to follow Porlyusica. The subsequent ass chewing she'd given him had haunted him for a month.

But, that was then and this was now. Now Jellal stood before the old office that overlooked the gym which had now been converted to fit a stage and tables. The gym played host to the live performances, dances, and other acts The Rose had to offer. Tonight, from what he heard, one of the girls was singing.

And it was a voice he recognized.

Stepping past the guard and into the office, Jellal found it to still be as elaborate as the last time he'd been there. The walls were painted a dark purple-the color accentuated by the subdued lighting-, a fully stocked liquor cabinet had replaced the trophy case, the bathroom had been expanded upon and refurnished, an expensive looking desk was set towards the back, and an equally expensive bed was also set nearby. It looked like it had been slept in recently.

Above the bed was a one way mirrored window.

Walking over to it, he focused on the stage where the spotlight was trained on _her_.

She was still as beautiful-still as hypnotic, intoxicating, and dangerous-as the last time he'd seen her. She was seduction personified, clad in heels with a black lace bra and that left nothing to the imagination. Her crimson-scarlet-red hair and black tinted lips, sharply contrasted her alabaster skin. Her voice never failed to hook and reel him into her; a mixture between coy, sultry, and seductive. Her voice, he had come to learn, was one of her most dangerous assets. She could easily lull one into dropping their defenses, playing the part of the sly minx, and then strike with all the precision and venom of a viper.

Yes, Erza Scarlet was still the woman he remembered her to be.

For as much as he enjoyed taking a client to bed every now and then…it was Erza that had always had his number. He wasn't sure what had drawn him to her at first, the brilliant color of her hair or the fact that she could handle a 10mm automatic like it was no one's business, but either way; Erza had effectively sunk her claws into him both during and after their first and subsequent meetings.

Which was ironic considering that during their first meeting Erza had tried to kill him. With extreme prejudice if he might add. As if sensing his eyes on her, she looked up to the window without missing a beat in her song and gave a wink. Jellal felt his lips curl up slightly.

"Well, well, well," came a sultry and smooth voice from behind, "the _Leben Geist_ graces me with his presence once more."

Jellal looked over his shoulder to find a woman-leaning against the doorframe-who in appearance bore a striking resemblance to Erza. But there was a hardness to that resemblance; an air of malice and control that Erza lacked. Subtleties that set the two women apart that one would notice if scrutinized. Her crimson red hair was tied into an elegant braid and draped over her shoulder and she wore a black leather corset with a deep purple lace garter belt and stockings. Black, knee high boots adorned her legs. But the most distinguishing feature was the black and red dragon tattoo on her left arm that started at her knuckles and ran all the way up the length of her arm.

Much like Erza…Irene Belserion hadn't changed much since last he'd seen her.

"Tante Irene." Jellal said with a bow of his head and Irene walked over to him, her heels softly clicking on the floor.

She extended her hand and Jellal gently pressed his lips to her knuckles. Irene, in her own form of greeting, leaned in close to Jellal when he pulled back and ran her tongue along his pulse. Try as he might, Jellal couldn't stop the shudder that ran up his spine. He had established enough of a rapport with her that whenever they met, she gave him her "signature" greeting.

Personally, he thought it was her way of getting under his skin and toying with him.

It worked, as much as he was loathe to admit it.

"Thank you for meeting with me." She smirked and gestured to her desk, "Take a seat, if you'd be so kind."

"I'm always happy to be of service to you Lady Irene." Jellal said, taking his seat opposite of the matron.

Irene reclined back in her chair, resting her feet atop her desk and interlaced her fingers before her. Her smirk still lingered on her lips; it was one of the many things about her that always managed to unnerve him. He never knew what was going on in that head of hers.

"I heard about what you did to Duke Everlue. Your skills are as sharp as ever." Irene said.

"What makes you think I did it?" Jellal asked.

"Word gets around. In this city, nothing stays a secret forever…especially from me." Irene casually examined her black painted nails.

"How is Kinana doing? It's been a while since I had the… _pleasure_ of her company."

Jellal felt himself tense but did his best to not let it show. But Irene picked up on his unease with those ever assessing eyes of hers and a smug glint appeared within them.

"I've hired both Erik and Kinana on more than one occasion…they speak very highly of you. You're lucky to have such good friends."

"I suppose I am." Jellal said, managing to keep the strain out of his voice.

"Speaking of, well, speaking highly," Irene gave an amused snort, "Erza seems to share a similar admiration. She's quite fond of you…considering she nearly decorated a wall with your brains during your first meeting."

"I like to think she and I have moved past that little incident." Jellal replied, giving his tie a slight adjustment, "She's a remarkable woman. And having had time to both work and get to know her, I too can say that she deserves all the praise that comes her way."

Irene smirked once more and adjusted in her seat so that she was leaning towards Jellal, arm propped up on the desktop and chin resting in her palm.

"Are you saying that as a professional Jellal…or because you're sleeping with her?"

Jellal tensed again and felt his cheeks warm. He opened his mouth to speak but slowly closed it shut. Irene grinned like that cat that had gotten the canary.

"Like I said Jellal; _nothing gets past me_. And it's hard to hide a cluster of love bites on ones stomach…or choke marks for that matter. I didn't realize you were that kinky."

Adjusting his tie again-a nervous habit of his-he decided he'd been toyed with enough for one day.

"Is there a reason for me being here or did you just call me here to bust my balls?" He asked.

"I could do that for you if you'd like but it would cost you." She quipped, giving her lips a drawn out lick.

" _Tante._ " Jellal said, his tone tight.

Irene sighed and leaned back once more, "Very well, let's get down to business shall we? I, or rather, a client of mine has a problem that needs to be taken care of. And she asked me for help."

"She?" Jellal arched a brow.

"She's a frequent guest here. However, I'm a woman who prides herself in being able to keep secrets, more so to the fact that this client has her picture in the news every now and then. Perhaps you've seen her?"

Irene reached into her desk and produced her phone. With a few swipes and taps of her finger, Irene produced a picture of a woman who had to be a year or so younger than him. What stood out about her was not her emerald green hair and eyes…but the man who stood beside her in the picture.

"Hisui E. Fiore?" Jellal asked, "As in Senator Fiore's daughter? The same woman who is running for the mayor's office of the city?"

"The very same."

"What's she doing in a place like this; no offense."

Irene waved her hand dismissively, "Miss Fiore has…well, let's just say she has _unique_ tastes. Tastes that I myself have catered to on more than one occasion."

"I can only imagine." Jellal quipped, "So, the daughter of the man who wants to be the next president is a client of yours. But, as someone who is in such limelight, I can only imagine what would happen if her little hobby got leaked to the news. Stop me if I'm wrong; someone is threatening to talk and to preserve her secret and not ruin her father's career, Hisui needs this person taken care of."

"Oh Jellal, that's so mundane. Honestly, I'd expect to read that idea in a paperback I'd pick up at the grocery store." Irene shook her head.

"No, things aren't this simple this time around. Don't be such a cynic."

"Forgive me but I've worked so many jobs like this that they start to look like one another. If I had a nickel for every man and woman I put down who knew a little too much…well, we wouldn't be having this conversation now would we?"

"Like I said, don't be such a cynic." Irene replied, "Tell me, are you also familiar with Crawford Seam?"

"What did that fat old man do this time?" Jellal rolled his eyes, "Yes, I'm familiar with the city councilman. He's as dirty as they come but he holds a great deal of pull with the council…despite more than a few well publicized scandals. Honestly, the man shouldn't be in office but he's managed to keep himself where he is all this time."

Irene smirked at Jellal's assessment. He wasn't wrong. But, she was sure if _she_ revealed what she knew about the man…well, she was certain Jellal's hair would turn from blue to gray in a heartbeat. But then again, she knew when to and when not to talk. And considering what she was about tell Jellal, well, those secrets would be of no use to her anymore.

"Why? What's his connection to all of this?" Jellal asked.

"Well…it goes like this. Hisui knew this other young woman; her name was Laki Olietta. Hisui and Laki were childhood friends and grew up together. Laki's mother worked for the Fiore's as a maid and would often bring her daughter with her to work so Laki would have someone to play with. From what Hisui told me, they also went to school together. Anyway, when Laki's mother fell ill, Laki took her place as one of the family maids. This did nothing to deter the two girl's friendship and they remained friends until recently."

"What happened?" Jellal asked.

"This is where the esteemed Councilman comes into play." Irene said and her smile diminished as she retrieved a manila folder from her desk.

"You see, as well treated as Laki was within the Fiore family…she still needed to earn a living. Her mother's illness had worsened over the years and the paycheck she earned as a maid wasn't cutting it anymore. So she took up a side job."

"Prostitution." Jellal stated more than asked. He'd heard and seen this story too many times as well.

"She found work as one of Tante Lilith's whores. And she became very good at what she did. But, when Senator Fiore found out about what Laki was doing, well, he had to let her go. It'd be bad press if people knew a professional whore was working for him. Still, even when that happened, Laki and Hisui remained close. I know Hisui's father didn't approve but Hisui didn't give a damn. She cared too much for Laki…and I feel she felt more than an endearing friendship for the woman. But…I suppose I'll never know."

"…You keep referring to Miss Olietta in the past tense." Jellal said, eyes narrowing, "What did Seam do to her?"

"The last time Hisui and Laki spoke, Laki told her that she was meeting with a client who-when they paid her- would allow her to finally have enough money to move her mother into better care. Laki was all too happy to take the job. Laki promised that she'd call Hisui once she got back to her brothel, same as she always did whenever she took a job. Except…the next day, Hisui never received that call. She downplayed it at first, figuring Laki was tired and would call her in the afternoon. But the day passed and still nothing. Hisui began to grow worried since Laki always made sure to call in.

The next day, Hisui grabs the morning paper…and finds Laki's face on the sidebar. She'd been killed; murdered to be precise. Her body had been found along the shores of the lake by a man out for his morning run. Poor Hisui nearly had a mental breakdown at the news."

Irene handed Jellal the manila folder and when he opened it, he found both crime scene photos, a police report, and coroner's report. Jellal had seen many horrible things in his life…things that would forever haunt him until the day he finally stopped breathing. Things that were too terrible to describe. He'd done just as worse as well.

But what had been done to poor Laki Olietta…well, Jellal felt the bile rise in his throat.

Her dark brown eyes starred vacantly at him from the one picture; the whites of her eyes clotted with blood. Her long, purple hair had lost its luster and her skin was chalk white like marble…only to be broken by a series of viciously deep lacerations and wounds.

"She was raped." Irene said, even as he read the coroner's report, "Then tortured…someone took a fine blade to her and cut her open. She was cut in places that wouldn't kill but would make her bleed and suffer. Her vocal chords were overstressed from all the screaming she'd done."

"She bled to death." Jellal said, closing the file and willing Laki to disappear into the part of his mind where he banished such things.

"Yes." Irene affirmed, "The police are calling Laki's death a homicide but aren't exactly making it their highest priority. Her case has been tossed in with all the others, gathering dust in storage room until someone makes time to give a damn. After all, she's just another dead prostitute in a city where such women are a dime a dozen. What's one more to add to the graveyard?"

Jellal gave a humorless snort and shook his head, "A city of life built on the dead."

"When did all of this happen?"

"Two weeks ago. Barely rated the sidebar if you're wondering why you didn't hear about it."

"I see…so I think it goes without saying that Councilman Seam was Laki's client on the night she died. You wouldn't have brought him up otherwise. So…why is he connected to this and how does it all tie into Hisui contacting you?"

"Well, like I said, Hisui was devastated by Laki's death; by her murder. She wanted answers. But she couldn't just go out to the police and say she knew a prostitute. So she hired a private eye to do some digging for her and subtly applied some of her influence when needed. Hisui knows of what I'm capable of and came to me with all that she was able to dig up on Seam."

"She thinks he killed her?" Jellal asked.

"The councilman was the last one to see Laki before she died. The driver of the cab that took Laki to the councilman's home dropped her off at seven and was scheduled to pick her up at ten. When he came back, he was turned back by the councilman himself who said he'd called up his limo to pick up Laki. But, the traffic cams on the highway and the security cams that watch the gated community Seam lives in saw no such thing.

What was seen, however, was by one of Seam's newest neighbors. The man has insomnia and was having a smoke out on his back deck when he saw Seam's boat, piloted by two of his guards, pass on by. The man thought it was odd because A) what would they be doing out this late at night, and B) they had something tucked under a blanket in the boat."

"And the man didn't find this concerning enough because…?" Jellal asked.

"Because he's neighbors with Crawford Seam. The neighbor knows enough about the man not to piss him off."

"…Understandable." Jellal admitted, "So… Seam killed Laki for whatever reason and had his goons dump her body in the lake. Seam is scum but for an accusation such as this to be made against him, you and I both know that it's all circumstantial evidence at best."

"It is…unless you take into account that over the last few years, seven other prostitutes were found dead along the lake; all from identical causes of death. And Seam was the last man they all saw: he hired each one of those girls."

"And no one ever made the connection?" Jellal asked to which Irene shrugged.

"They were prostitutes; no one would miss them. The police figured they had a serial killer on their hands but a lack of evidence and leads made the cases go cold. Hisui's investigator found that Seam's name had been brought up by people who actually did care about one or two of the girls but the man is simply untouchable. He made the cases go away or paid to have the police turn their attention elsewhere."

"Okay…so the councilman is looking pretty guilty when you put it all together like that. What does Hisui want done about it?"

"Simple. She wants him dead."

"Just like that?" Jellal asked, "A senator's daughter wants her friends supposed killer iced just like that?"

"I know a lust for revenge when I see it. You should be familiar with it as well. Because of our… _special_ relationship, Hisui knows that I'm someone who gets things done and I get them done both fast and efficiently. Having received such praise and having taken pity on the poor dear…I was all too happy to assist her."

"That's horseshit and you and I both know it. I know you're not doing this out of the kindness of your heart. You only reserve that sort of affection for a select few."

"Oh, you wound me so." Irene feigned heartbreak but that sly smirk of hers returned all the same.

"Quid pro quo. I do something for her…she does something for me."

"That's more like it." Jellal crossed his arms.

"If I help Hisui get rid of her little problem, she'll be in my debt…in addition to me keeping her secret about her little escapades at The Rose. When the mayoral elections are held within the next few months, I intend to see that Hisui gets the job. When she's mayor…I'll have her in my pocket. But there's more."

A sadistically cruel grin split Irene's lips.

"You see, once Seam is gone, there'll be an open seat on the city council. And councilmembers are only appointed by the mayor. All I have to do is persuade the current mayor to postpone his selection of a replacement so that way when he steps down, the duty of selecting a new councilmember will fall unto the new, incoming mayor."

"So when that time comes, once Hisui is in the mayor's office, you'll remind her of her good fortune and have her place you on the council."

"Bingo." Irene purred, her voice as sultry as it was twistedly sweet.

"Devious as it is cunning…its things like this that remind me why your one of the alpha's around here." Jellal said, doing his best to subtly touch his shoulder holster. The cool metal of his gun provided him little reassurance like it usually did; especially in the presence of such an apex predator.

"I will admit…I can't really see you being a politician."

"Oh my dear Jellal…" Irene smiled sweetly, "there's so much about me you don't know. So…will you take this job?"

"With all that you've told me, I feel like I have little choice not to." Jellal sighed before offering a smirk of his own.

"It'll be quite the challenge…but I must admit, after seeing what he did to her, I'm very compelled to get Laki the justice she's been denied."

"Good boy…" Irene grinned.

"Though I should mention, you won't be undertaking this alone. Given how much I have resting on this, I'm having Erza join you on this job. She's already been brought up to speed on what is going on and has accepted the offer. She'll be insuring your success and my own…in a manner of speaking."

"Are you sure about that? I'm more thank capable of handling all of this on my own."

"I'm certain you could but as I said before, Erza is one of my best. She can handle herself just as well as you can. But, more importantly, she has a few advantages over you…advantages that you lack. Advantages, I'm sure that if the two of you were to work together, could be put to effective use."

Jellal knew a veiled threat when he heard one and didn't press the issue further.

"In addition to Erza, feel free to call in anyone else who'll be able to make this all the more easier for the two of you. I want this job done as efficiently, effectively, and as quietly as possible. No matter what happens, this cannot come back to me or Hisui… _so don't fuck this up_. Am I clear?"

"Crystal. What about payment?"

"Hisui is 'allocating' some funds and I am pooling some of my own personal funds to supplement your payment. I'm sure that it'll please both you, Erza, and whoever else you bring in on this. I'll have the down payment transferred to your account later today with full payment transferred upon completion. If that's settled do you have anything else you wish to ask?"

"Yeah," Jellal said, "what does the Management down at The Continental have to say about this?"

"The Management?" Irene smirked.

"You know," Jellal rolled his eyes, " _your_ boss. The guy who truly runs this city with a network that connects all of us criminals together. Killing Duke Everlue was one thing since that man was a piece of shit that won't be missed. I didn't have to get any permission for that.

But now we're talking about a city councilman who I'm sure has his own uses and keeps his fair share of secrets for your boss. If you want any of this to work, then you have to get his approval first."

Irene only smiled, making Jellal double blink.

"You did talk to your boss right?" He asked, hesitant.

"No…not yet." Irene replied smoothly, "But, since you already agreed to take this job, that responsibility falls unto you. I'm sure our dear friend will be happy to see you and hear you out. And I have no doubt that he'll approve of this."

"Your faith does little to assuage my fears and I know plausible deniability when I see it. We are talking about talking with the man who makes guys like me disappear when a line is crossed."

"That's right; so don't fuck up, make a good impression, and sell him on this. I'm in enough of a good standing with him that that should offer you a little leeway."

"And if I don't succeed?" Jellal asked.

"One way or another you're killing Seam and getting him out of my way. So for your sake, make this work so you can continue breathing and my daughter won't have to find a new partner to share a bed with."

"You're a piece of work, you know that right?"

"And you're a psychotic killing machine; hello pot, I'm kettle, have we met before?"

Jellal sighed heavily and nodded his head, "I'll see what I can do."

"Good. Anything else?" Irene asked.

"Yeah…one more. Where can I find Erza? I don't hear her voice anymore so I assume she's done performing for the moment. I'd like to discuss this with her ASAP."

"Oh, I'm sure she's around." Irene hummed, "Why don't you go looking for her. I'm sure she'd enjoy a little hide and seek."

"Then I'd best not keep her waiting." Jellal smiled politely and stood from his chair. He had just turned on his heel when Irene spoke.

"Jellal." She said in a tone that made him freeze. He slowly looked over his shoulder to find her countenance now set in a glare; her smirk now gone and replaced by a tight frown.

"I know I don't have to tell you again what should happen if you were to fail me on this." Irene said, just letting the tinniest hint of malice inflect her voice.

"Or what will happen if Erza is harmed."

"Don't worry Tante. I always complete my contracts; one way or another. And I can guarantee that Erza will return to you unharmed."

"See that she does."

Jellal bowed his head, "Your hospitality, as always, is appreciated."

With that, he made his way out of Irene's office; the guard closing the door the moment he set foot outside of it. He was more than a little happy to be out of the wolf's den and into a space he could manage.

Or so he thought, right up until he rounded the curve of the hall and a blur of movement caught him off guard at the edge of his peripheral. He turned, just in time to have an open palm strike slam him up against the wall. His hands were caught by the wrists, a leg was pressed in between his…and a shapely body was pressed flush against his front.

"Is…is this how we greet each other now; Erza?" Jellal managed to grunt out.

Erza smirked and answered his question by pressing her pillow soft lips to his. All of the tension left his body, as it usually did when he was with her, and her hands released his wrists and moved to his shoulders. His hands in turn moved to hold her waist. When the need for air finally forced them to part, Erza rested her forehead against his while their breaths mingled together. Her deep, chocolate brown eyes were half lidded but they were locked with his all the same.

"Long time no see, Jellal." Erza smirked slyly.

"Long time?" Jellal asked, "You just saw me at Mira and Laxus's wedding."

"And oh, what a night that turned out to be." Erza chuckled before gently pecking him on the lips.

"Yeah, nothing like having a quickie right before your best friend's wedding to start things off and then going at it like rabbit's when you dragged me back to your room." Jellal quipped with a smirk of his own.

"You love it and you know it." Erza grinned, earning a kiss from Jellal this time.

"Twist my arm." He quipped again before frowning slightly, "Are you sure you're okay about taking this job?"

"What my mother wants, my mother gets." Erza sighed, "I was as blindsided by this as I'm sure you were but I can't say no to her, nor can I turn down what she's willing to pay."

"Speaking of my mother," Erza added, "did she treat you nicely during your talk?"

"Just the usual threats on my life should anything happen to you…you know; the usual. But, other than that, she hasn't changed much."

Erza rolled her eyes, "She knows I can take care of myself, I don't see why she has to get a babysitter for every job I take for her."

"You're her daughter, she worries I suppose." Jellal said, gently rubbing a lock of crimson hair between his fingers.

"More like she doesn't want anything happening to the heir to the throne." Erza gave a derisive snort.

"Once she's on the council, she's handing the keys to this place over to me. But until that happens, she doesn't want to see a single hair out of place or a bullet between my eyes."

"Tante Scarlett does have a nice ring to it." Jellal smirked, earning a light smack on the forehead from Erza.

"Kiss my ass." Erza smirked.

"Funny, I thought you liked it when my lips were on your-" Jellal began but Erza pressed a finger to his lips.

"Save it, for the bedroom." Erza smiled teasingly.

"So what happens now? If you're not too busy, I figured we could take some time to catch up since last we spoke. I want to hear all about what you did to Duke Everlue."

"I just need to make a quick call to confirm something for the job and get things moving…but, other than that, I have nothing else going on." Jellal replied.

"Wonderful." Erza smiled, a genuine smile, and leaned in to kiss him again.

"Do you want me to pay you this time?" Jellal asked when they parted.

"No, I just go paid the other night so this one is on the house…unless you want to do something else in addition to our usual routine." Erza smirked.

"I'll consider it, if that makes you happy. Our usual room?"

"Don't keep me waiting." Erza smirked and sauntered off down the hall, trailing her hand along the wall as she did so.

Jellal let himself get lost in the sway of her hips before he managed to pull himself back to reality. He dug out his phone and quick dialed a certain number.

The phone rang twice before it was answered.

"Jellal." Cobra answered, knowing the reason why his old friend was calling the moment he saw his name in the caller ID.

"Hello Erik," Jellal greeted, "remember that favor you owe me?"

"If you're calling me this quickly about all of that, it must be damn important." Erik sighed heavily.

"What did you get dragged into this time?"

"I took a job for Tante Irene and she's allowing me to call in back up on this one."

"…God dammit man, at this rate she's going to practically own you. Why do you keep going back to her when you know about all the trouble she causes…or has you cause."

"Your concern is noted and I'll take it into consideration. All I need to know is if you're going to honor that favor you owe me."

Erik sighed heavily again and was silent for several minutes before he answered.

"How good is the pay for this one?"

"I know it'll be enough for you and Kinana to get away from all of this and go someplace quiet. Does that answer your question?"

"…Alright…I'm in."

"Good. I need you to contact Ultear for me and get her on board for this too, I'm going to need her help with this job as well."

"Are you sure you don't have a death wish or something like that?" Erik asked, making his skepticism obvious.

"If I had a death wish I would've died years ago Erik," Jellal quipped, "just tell her the pay is good and to contact me if she really wants to bitch to someone."

"Your funeral man."

"Once everything is settled, I'll arrange a time and place for us to meet up and get a plan of attack together." Jellal continued, ignoring Erik.

Erik sighed once more, "Whatever you say Leben Geist."

"Keep in touch." Jellal said and ended the call. With that, he gave a heavy sigh of his own and ran his hand through his hair. He hoped this job in particular wouldn't be the one to actually make him become a Geist. He cheated death one too many times for him to meet the Reaper simply because he got in the way of Irene's ambitions.

Then again…such was the nature of the life he led.

But, for the time being, those concerns could wait. Right now he needed to worry about keeping a certain red head waiting lest she come hunt him down.

After all, they did say it was rather rude to keep a lady waiting.

XXXX

A/N: So…what do you guys think? Writing both Jellal and Erza in such a gritty way is actually very fun; it's a sharp contrast to their canonical portrayals. Besides…who doesn't like being a little bad?

Like I said, this three-shot is a shout out to my friend _ **Freyjabee,**_ so I've taken a bit of influence from her works by adding references and drawing on general themes for this. Before you guys say anything, I have talked to her about all of this and she's given me the green light. And as I stated before, if you haven't read any of her stories yet, hop on over to her page and give them a look. You might find a story or two that you may enjoy.

This chapter mainly established the plot for the next two chapters so not much action in this regard. Chapter Two is where things will pick up and Chapter Three will be where things get a little…steamy. But, all of that will come in due time. For the next chapter, however, expect a shameless movie tie in with one of my favorite action movies. I'll let you guys try and figure out what that movie is in the meantime.

As far as updating this story goes…I'm not sure. Things seem to always be busy on my end of things (this recent week was particularly brutal on me for a number of reasons) and I have other stories I'm still working on. I'm going to work on finishing up the double update I have planned for "Vendetta" and then I'm going to hit both "Vice" and "Songs From the Sea". After that, I'll either come back to this either before or after I update "Between Light and Shadow". But, who knows, I may change my mind.

As per usual, if you guys have any comments or questions, please put it in your review and I'll make sure to respond to you in the next chapter. If you have anything else that you wish to ask me or clarify, you can PM me and I'll do my best to respond ASAP.

Until next time; read, review and most importantly of all, HAPPY READING!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back!

I apologize for being inactive as of late since my last updates. I have been writing but not as much as I'd like so I feel that I'm slightly rusty; my job hours have changed once again and I am still job searching (finding a full time job sucks by the way). Hopefully when I find a full time job I'll be better able to organize my time and get to writing at a more concurrent pace. Wishful thinking on my part, I know.

But, in the meantime, let's get back to the real reason you're here: the story! Last time we left off with introducing Jellal and Erza as two assassins who have been hired by one of Magnolia's top crime lords-Eileen Belserion-to eliminate City Councilman Crawford Seam: a rather shifty man with a dark hobby. This chapter will mainly focus on Jellal and Erza planning for the hit, elaborating on some character details, and the actual hit itself…which I'm sure you're well aware, won't go as planned.

This is chapter that will also feature a shameless movie tie in with one of my favorite action films: _John Wick_. I do enjoy that movie and its sequel; give it a watch if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. Don't read too much into it though; it's just something fun I thought I'd do while trying to integrate it into the plot here (also, I don't own _John Wick_ or anything affiliated with it, this purely for entertainment purposes).

 _ **On a quick side note, I would like to say something:**_ _**At this point, I'm pretty sure we're all aware that Fairy Tail has come to an end, or a close I should say, because who knows if Mashima will come back to the Fairy Tail universe or not. But, with that being said, does this mean that I-as a fanfic writer-will stop writing about Fairy Tail? Will I stop writing my stories?**_

 _ **My answer to that is: NOPE!**_

 _ **I still have stories I'm working on, stories I want to tell; stories I want to share. And so long as I am able to, I intend to do just that. So no, I don't think I'll stop writing anytime soon and I hope you'll continue to join me for the ride.**_

 _ **And I encourage all of you who write fanfics for Fairy Tail to keep on writing too; just because Fairy Tail has come to an end, doesn't mean you should stop writing, having fun, and creating your own adventures. Keep rocking on and doing what you enjoy!**_

As usual, before we continue, here is a shout out to those who left a review for the previous chapter:

 _ **FreyjaBee:**_ Hello! As usual, it's always nice to hear from you; glad you like the shout out! The Chevelle is one of my favorite cars so I couldn't resist adding it in. And I'm glad I did well with Irene and Erza's character interpretation. This chapter will give a hint as to how Jellal got his nickname; it'll be further explained in the next and final chapter. As for the movie reference/who Eileen's boss is, that too shall be revealed. And don't worry, Zeref will make an appearance as well. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

 _ **Fin-Fish Jun-Tenshi:**_ Hello, welcome to the story, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

 _ **Guest:**_ Hello! I'm glad you're enjoying this story and that the character interactions were to your liking. If you liked Jellal and Erza in the previous chapter, you're going to enjoy them in this and the next one.

 _ **SulliMike23:**_ Hey dude; it's always good to hear from you! Yep, Eileen is as beautiful as she is cunning and dangerous.

 _ **Cheschire-Kaat:**_ Hello and welcome back! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter; if you liked the first half, then you're going to love this chapter and the next one.

 _ **Guest:**_ Hello! My next stories won't be coming out anytime soon but I can tell you that the one is centered on Natsu and Lucy. I won't be incorporating mythology into it, but, there is a belly dancer scene in the works for it.

 _ **Snavej:**_ Hello and welcome back, I'm glad to hear that you're looking forward to this story.

 _ **Guest:**_ Hello and welcome to the story, I'm happy to see that you're enjoying the story so far. I do agree, Jellal and Erza do make one hell of a pairing.

So, with all of that taken care of; let's continue.

XXXX

CHAPTER 2

XXXX

 _ **Domus Flau Ristorante and Café…**_

 _ **Downtown Magnolia…**_

Checking his watch, Jellal took a drink from his tea and wondered not for the first time that afternoon as to what was keeping everyone. Erza, Erik, and Ultear knew he was a tad anal about punctuality and that he didn't like to be kept waiting.

It was a little past one in the afternoon and the city was as usual, bustling with people who were either running errands, heading out lunch, coming back from lunch, or just getting off work. Personally he would've preferred somewhere a little quieter to discuss the proper way of killing someone, but when Ultear said she wanted to meet at _Domus Flau_ , he was powerless to disagree. Ultear's skills may have been with computers but he'd seen her snap enough people's necks to know that'd she have no problem doing the same to him.

Jellal winced to himself, remembering the last man Ultear had quote "folded like a pretzel" unquote. That had been something he could've gone the rest of his life without seeing.

Just as he was bout ready to dig out his phone and send out a group text, Jellal saw Erik's old square body pick up pull into the parking lot across the street. He was shortly followed by Ultear in her Land Rover…and then Erza, in her red Audi R8. The sports car peeled into the parking lot with a brief screech of tires and Jellal couldn't stop the smirk that formed on his lips.

Erza always did have a flare for the dramatic.

And it seemed her outfit today only served to reinforce that assessment.

Her hair flowed freely and cascaded down her shoulders. A pair of sunglasses hid her eyes. She wore a red halter top that was short but not too short, exposing just the right amount of midriff to draw passing glances from both men and women (his included). A black leather jacket, skinny jeans, and a pair of heels completed the look.

Erza lowered her glasses slightly to give him a coy wink, making him smirk in kind.

"Save the flirting for the bedroom you two." Ultear Milkovich frowned with a roll of her eyes. The dark haired woman was dressed casually for a change, trading in her usual suits for a denim jacket, graphic tank top, capris, and sneakers.

"Ultear, so good to see you again." Jellal smiled sweetly, "I've missed your puckish charm."

"Smartass." She was unable to suppress the small twitch of her lips as she took her seat, Erik and Erza doing the same.

"You're late." Jellal said, tapping his watch.

"Sorry, my mother needed me to run a few errands for her before I came here." Erza said.

"Kinana needed her pain meds refilled." Erik grunted.

"And I had to drop Meredy off at soccer practice…which I'm not so fond of you interrupting. It's hard enough for me to find time to spend with her and you calling me up for this isn't helping things." Ultear griped.

"I know, I know," Jellal raised his hands defensively, "And I'm sorry. But I really need your help on this one and I am prepared to give you half of my share to compensate you if need be."

"That's mighty generous of you." Ultear said, "When Erik hinted at the payment that would be divided up for this job, I almost didn't believe him. But if you're willing to sacrifice some of your own pay in order to placate me…well, I'm tempted more than ever to put aside my skepticism."

"And I thank you for that," Jellal smiled, "so…aside from Erza and I, do the two of you know why you're here?"

"No." Ultear said as a waitress brought over glasses of water.

"Only what you told me; that Irene Belserion has you running favors for her again." Erik answered.

"That's _Tante Irene_ to you." Erza glowered, giving Erik a nasty look. It didn't bother him.

"You're working for her again?" Ultear asked, "Damn, I never pegged you for a masochist."

Jellal sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I'm perfectly aware of what I'm getting myself into, this isn't my first rodeo for her. Be that as it may, the reason why I've called the two of you here is for this: Lady Irene wants Councilman Crawford Seam dead and buried A.S.A.P and I need your help to do it."

"Seam?" Erik asked, "That scumbag?"

"About damn time." Ultear said, taking a sip of her water, "I've hacked enough e-mails from sitting councilmembers to know that he's not particularly liked by them and that there's been talk of a private investigation being created against him for corruption."

"I'm not surprised to hear to that," Erza added, "Seam bought his way onto the council; everyone knows this but is too afraid to go against him to say anything."

"Why does Tante Irene have a sudden interest in wanting Seam taken out of the picture?" Ultear asked.

"Long story short, Lady Irene wants his job and all the prestige and power that comes with it. She's found favor with Hisui E. Fiore, so when Seam's gone and she's mayor, Hisui will appoint Lady Irene to the council. Also…Lady Irene and I have reason to believe that Seam is a serial predator and killer. Trust me when I say this; if the man dies, no one will mind seeing him gone."

"Unless you have ties to him or he's in your debt." Erik said casually.

"We'll worry about that if we're forced to cross that bridge." Jellal said, "For now, I just need to know: are you two in or out?"

Erik and Ultear shared a look before the former shrugged and the latter sighed.

"For the money you're offering, I can't really say no…besides, I was getting a tad bored anyway."

"Ditto." Ultear added.

"Music to my ears…so, let's get a working plan going and once I get formal approval for this job, we'll finalize things." Jellal smirked.

"Lady Irene was specific in how she wants Seam dealt with: efficiently, no trace, and no way for her to be implicated."

"Sounds like a job that's up close and personal. Not exactly my style." Said Erik.

"I can break a neck but I'm not getting close to that man. Computers are more my forte, as you know." Ultear chimed.

"I'm aware of both your skills…which is why Erza was volunteered for this particular task. Any ideas you can send her way, I'm sure will be appreciated."

"Actually, I already have an idea in mind." Erza smiled, a dark, sweet smile. Erik, Jellal, and Ultear felt a rather cold chill run down their spines, even though it was a warm, sunny day out.

Erza set her purse up onto the table and subtly removed an auto assist stiletto knife. She flicked the blade out and Jellal noted there was a glossy sheen coating the metal of the blade.

"Did you put nail polish remover or something on that? You're going to ruin the blade like that." Erik asked, perplexed, "What is that stuff?"

"Venom from chironex fleckeri." Erza said.

"What?" Erik asked while both Jellal and Erza paled, both recognizing the scientific name for…

"The Sea Wasp." Ultear whispered. Erik double blinked in confusion before a memory came to mind. Realization was quick to dawn on him.

"Where the hell did you get venom for a box jellyfish from!?" Erik hissed, scooting away from Erza while ushering her to put the knife away.

There was a reason why the box jellyfish was such a feared creature. Its venom was potent enough to kill a person in under two to five minutes. It was this lethality that earned the box jellyfish the rightful title of the deadliest jellyfish in the world. And the fact that Erza had some openly coating a knife, in public, so close to them, was enough to make Jellal-not for the first time-question Erza's sanity.

"I have my sources." Erza tittered, "Even if I don't deliver a fatal blow with this knife, the poison will do the work for me. The venom is fast acting; searing pain and seizures followed by cardiac arrest. A simple, clean-if rather painful way-of killing someone."

"…You're terrifying, you know that right?" Ultear swallowed hard.

Erza simply smiled sweetly and hid the knife away back in her purse.

"…Well…I guess that solves that." Jellal said, taking a nervous drink of water, "Moving on to where Seam lives…"

"He lives in gated community out by the lake, if memory serves me right." Said Ultear.

"Magnolia Shores." Jellal was quick to correct.

"We're in luck, I know the area. There's a hill that overlooks the community and it has the service road that winds around it. If I remember correctly, Seam's house is the closet to the hill. We can use it to keep an eye on things and get the van in range for Ultear to hack whatever security systems he may have installed." Erik glanced to Ultear who gave an affirmative nod.

"If our tech is up to the latest specs then it should be child's play for me to play havoc with his security." Ultear said, having recovered from Erza's little scare.

"Speaking of hacking, the man has a penchant for hiring escorts; see what dirt you dig up on him through his personal or office computer." Jellal added.

"I can do that." Ultear gave a lax, two finger salute.

"What about me?" Erik asked.

"What you do best; observe and report. We'll also need the van prepped for whatever cover we'll be using so…" Jellal was cut off by his second phone ringing.

Grumbling to himself, he glanced at the screen before rolling his eyes, "Sorry, I have to take this."

He stood and walked away from the table, the beginnings of a heated conversation echoing out loud enough for his three companions to hear. Erza watched Jellal while Erik and Ultear conversed, paying the two no mind as she watched the man who for a while now, had been more than her partner or a simple acquaintance.

Jellal rubbed the back of his neck, his hand forcing the collar of his shirt down enough that she caught the briefest glimpse of the beginning of the large tattoo that covered his entire back. She had seen it plenty of times…but the meaning that it held always eluded her. She had her ideas as to why he had those tattoos in particular…but no one, not even Jellal himself, ever gave her a concrete answer.

"Why do people call Jellal 'The Leben Geist'…'The Living Ghost'?" Erza asked, seemingly out of the blue.

Erik and Ultear shared a look, brows quirked, before turning back to Erza.

"He…hasn't told you yet?" Erik asked to which Erza shook her head.

"No. Whenever I ask him about it, he changes the subject or just acts like he didn't hear me." Erza frowned.

"Funny," Ultear hummed, "given how close you two are, even by assassin standards, I would have figured he'd be open with you about it."

"He hasn't said a word." Erza said, tracing her finger around the rim of her glass, "I hear the name whispered whenever he does a job or whenever my mother talks about him. But I can never figure out what they mean."

"… _I don't like the idea that my mother and even complete strangers know more about him than I do."_ Erza added with an afterthought.

"…It's…a sensitive topic, for me and him." Erik said, "And it's not my place to tell you."

"Why not?" Erza asked.

"Because we don't like dwelling on the past all that often. What's in the past is in the past, no matter how much it may haunt us." Erik sighed.

"When he's ready, he'll tell you…until then; leave it be."

Erza frowned, ready to protest, but kept her mouth shut when Jellal ambled back on over.

"Sorry about that." He frowned, "My client for the case I've been working in my spare time won't stop nagging me about status updates for her case. I had to placate her to leave me alone."

Erik sniggered, "That's what you get when you play lawyer dude; you have to deal with all the headaches that come with it."

"And a headache this one is turning into." Jellal grumbled, before giving his assembled team a final, cursory look.

"So…we're all in agreement on what needs to be done?"

"Aye," the three of them answered together.

"I'll hack into his computer networks and see what his internet history has to offer. I'll see if I can find what kind of escort he fancies and once that's taken care of, I'll make the necessary arrangements to ensure that Erza is hired on when Seam finds himself wanting." Ultear said.

"On the night that we strike, I'll hack into his home security systems-whatever they may be-and provide on the fly information for you and Erza."

"I'll get the van prepped and see what snooping I can do on Seam; figure out his patterns and stuff like that so we at least have an idea of what we're up against." Erik added.

"And Erza and I will do the dirty work when the time comes. I'll provide cover for Erza while she gets up close to Seam; close enough to take him down. With a little luck, this should be a clean and cut assassination with little evidence that we were ever there." Jellal finished.

"Hopefully without pissing off The Management and Tante Irene. Because if we fuck this up, there's no way in hell we're making it out of this alive." Erik lamented.

"Leave the damage control to Erza and I. Just focus on your tasks and we'll convene when we have a plan ready to work out…until then, you are dismissed."

Erik and Ultear said their respective farewells and made their way back to their cars. Jellal himself let out a heavy sigh and ran his hand down his face. He then offered Erza wry smile and extended his hand to her.

"Let's get moving ourselves shall we?" Jellal said, "We need to tidy up if we want this next part of our plan to go off without a hitch."

"And that would be…?" Erza asked.

"Your mother-being the sadist that she is-saw fit to put my neck on the line and have me take care of having this job authorized with The Management. So, with that being said, put on your best evening wear because we're taking a trip to The Continental."

XXXX

 _ **The Continental Hotel, later that night…**_

 _ **Basement Lounge…**_

The Continental Hotel was a luxury hotel set at the heart of the city. It was a mix between the old world charm of the past and a chic, modern style of the present. The hotel, despite its appearances, only catered to a certain clientele.

The Continental was a haven for assassins and those who lived in the cities criminal underworld. One would not think that given the posh men and women who came in and out its doors and stayed in its rooms. Men and women who lived respected lives as lawyers, doctors, and business workers.

But that was the beauty of the job…being able to hide in plain sight.

Whether you were passing through, spending the night, or coming in to perform a hit in the city, The Continental was a safe zone that all hired guns and killers could gravitate to. And so long as no violence was committed on the grounds of the establishment, then The Management would have no issue with the guests.

Such was the case of the downstairs lounge.

Located in the basement of the building, the dark and dreary hallway that led to a heavy steel door that most likely guarded the boiler room was rather unassuming. All save for the coin slot located next to it in the wall and the covered viewing port mounted on the door.

And it was here that Jellal and Erza, both dressed in fine, dark clothing, stood. Both produced a single, gold coin and inserted it into the slot. A second later, the viewport opened and a guard peered through it.

"She's with me." Jellal said, pointing to Erza.

The guard blinked and closed the viewport, only to then open the door and politely beckon them inside.

The two entered into a space that was filled with subdued but comfortable lighting, the buzz of conversation, and the sweet serenades of a live jazz band.

"This place is as lively as ever." Erza said as the two of them made their way to the bar.

"I'll never get used to it." Jellal said, cautiously observing the men and women around him in spite of himself.

"Why not?"

"Take a look around. This place is filled with nothing with professional killers and the only thing stopping them all from ripping one another apart is the power Winston and The Management has over us here."

Erza smirked, "I think you just need to learn how to take it easy every now and then. Loosen up and have a little fun where you can get it."

"I have fun." Jellal countered and Erza sniggered, "What? I do."

"Yeah, going to a tropical getaway to blow away some poor schmuck from a couple hundred yards away is real fun. And doing it all just in time to be home to do it all again to some poor other sap is even better."

"Sarcasm is unbecoming of you." Jellal deadpanned as the barista came over to them.

"Oh my gosh," the tattooed woman beamed, "Jellal? Erza? It's been ages since I last saw you two around here."

"Hello Addy." Erza smiled as she took the woman into a hug over the counter before Jellal did the same.

"What brings you two here?" Addy asked.

"I need to meet with Winston about getting a job sanctioned and Erza is my insurance should anything go wrong."

Addy rolled her eyes with a good natured smirk, "Oh stop, if he sees the two of you here, I'm sure he'll hear you out. He likes the two of you too much to just immediately say no to you."

"That's what I'm hoping for." Jellal said, "Is he here?"

"The usual spot." Addy said, pointing off to a corner in the back.

"Alright…Erza, wait here until I get back. If anything should go awry…well, it's been fun."

Erza gave a light slap upside the head, "Oh don't be so melodramatic."

"Sorry." Jellal chuckled and sighed heavily.

" _Time to face the firing squad…"_ He added as an afterthought.

Making his way to where he'd been directed, Jellal soon found himself standing before a rather dapper dressed man with his hair slicked back and a pair of reading glasses resting on his nose as he read from a small book. His rugged features conveyed a lifetime of experience dealt in the cold, harsh underworld that he and many others walked in. However, there was an air of wisdom and respect about him, the kind found around a mentor or a well-liked boss (to a certain degree). One would have a hard time in figuring out that the man was compared to a literal god that ran much of the crime in the city.

The man looked up and when he saw Jellal, his smile was genuine.

"Jellal," the man greeted and extended his hand. Jellal took it in a firm shake.

"Hello Winston, it's good to see you again."

"Likewise my boy, likewise. Come, have a seat."

Jellal sat down and a waitress seemingly appearing out nowhere delivered two glasses filled with amber liquid. Bourbon, most likely.

"Tell me Jellal, what brings you back to my fine establishment." Winston said, taking a sip of his drink.

"I think you have an idea as to why." Jellal quipped.

"I believe I do." Winston smiled thinly, "Irene Belserion is as ambitious as she is wile. I've known for a while now that she's been thinking of ways to gain a better foothold in the city along with gaining more favor with The Management. But she hasn't done anything drastic…until now. I've heard a whisper in the wind that she has her sights set on Crawford Seam and that she has Hisuei E. Fiore to thank for this sudden opportunity."

"You're not wrong." Jellal affirmed and took a heavy drink from his glass.

"And how do you equate into all of this?" Winston asked.

"I've worked for Irene in the past and she's been satisfied with the results I produce. I'm one of the few people she can count on to get a job done with the efficiency she expects."

"And Erza?" Winston gave a glance to the bar, offering Erza a small wave that she returned.

"Irene wants her to take point on this and I'm powerless to say no."

"As fond as I am of Erza, she has proven her worth by using her charm to…get up close and personal, one could say, with her targets." Winston said as he removed his glasses.

"She's good at what she does, I can vouch for her." Jellal replied, giving Erza a glance as well.

"You're not just saying that because the two of you are lovers, are you not?" Winston smirked.

He found it amusing in watching the color in his cheeks flare up while simultaneously draining at the same time.

"How did you…?" Jellal asked, his voice hoarse.

"I know many things Jellal, especially things that happen under my roof. After all, the last time the two of you were here, I was informed my staff had received several noise complaints registered against a room you and Erza shared."

"My…my apologies." Jellal stammered and averted his gaze, wishing then and there that Winston would kill him just too spare him from the sheer and embarrassment of that moment. Winston only gave a hearty laugh.

"So…" he said after taking a minute so sober up, "what exactly is it that you have in mind for the councilman?"

"I have Erik and Ultear keeping an eye on him and steering things our way. The man has a pension for hiring escorts and doing some rather…unsavory things to them." Jellal said with a slight frown.

"If the rumors are to be believed." Winston added.

"Rumors or not, I've been presented with enough circumstantial evidence for me to form my own opinions on the matter. And I think he's guilty as sin and needs to be dealt with." Jellal affirmed, holding his ground.

Winston sighed, "Continue."

"Once my team has the necessary information that we need, we plan to strike. It shouldn't take more than a few days for everything to be taken care of. Erza will get up close to the man and take him out and I'll provide cover for her, or rescue, should things get out of hand. However, if all goes according to plan, Crawford Seam will be dead and in about a year, Irene Belserion will be on the city council."

"That's your plan?" Winston arched a brow.

"…The short version; yeah." Jellal said simply.

Winston shook his head, "If Seam is to be killed, there'll be a bit of stir in the underworld here. You may have some people who Seam had ties to that won't be pleased that he's gone. More so, you'll be creating a power vacuum that Tante Irene may not have anticipated; a vacuum both in our world and the civilian world."

"If anyone has a problem with Seam being dead, they can take it up with Tante Irene. I'm just the man who was dragged into this mess."

"You could've said no."

"I could've. But I didn't…and so here I am."

The two men held each other's eye for several heartbeats before Jellal chose to speak.

"I'm well aware of what should happen to us if we don't go through with this job or what should happen to us if we fail. Either way, we're damned if we do; damned if we don't." Jellal lamented.

Winston was quiet for a minute more before he donned his glasses once and picked up his book, a reluctant frown on his lips.

"Very well," Winston sighed, "you have my approval for all of this. I expect Lady Irene to be able to clean up things should they get out of hand."

"Winston." Jellal bowed his and stood, leaving the booth, and glad that the boss of The Management hadn't decided to send him back to Irene in a body bag…in pieces.

 _ **Meanwhile at the bar…**_

Addy gave the bar top a double tap with her finger, catching her attention. She then motioned with her eyes to look behind her. It was the only warning Erza got as she began to turn around and came face to face with a less than welcomed sight (well, in her opinion at least).

"Hello Erza." Zeref Dragneel smiled, taking a seat next to her, "It's been a while."

"Zeref." Mira took a sip of her drink, "Indeed it has."

"You look nice."

"And you the same as ever." She quipped.

"Well, you know me, I have a tendency of being set in my ways." Zeref smiled.

"Funny, I'd never guess that one the city's newest crime bosses had trouble with adaptation. I would have figured your wife would have taught you a thing or two about that. After all, she herself is a boss not to be trifled with."

"Mavis has her way of doing things same I have mine." Zeref smiled, ignoring the friction between him and Erza, "We complement each other with our unique…take on our shared businesses."

"She's a strategist while you're a cold blooded killing machine." Erza quipped.

"In this city, aren't we all?" Zeref chuckled, taking a hearty drink.

Erza did her best not to roll her eyes; Zeref's false hospitality always had a way of grating on her nerves. She blinked when she realized that if Zeref was here, then his paramour would have to be close by as well.

"Is she here?" Erza asked.

Zeref cocked a thumb over his shoulder to a table near the back of the lounge. Sitting at it was a petite woman with long blonde hair and warm green eyes. The black dress she wore strained around her stomach due her obvious pregnancy. If Erza didn't know any better, she'd swear Mavis would go into labor any day now.

Mavis noticed Erza and gave a wave and a wide smile and Erza returned the gesture with a genuine smile of her own. Were it not for her longstanding friendship with the woman, she doubted she'd able to keep herself in check around Zeref.

"She's with child…congratulations." Erza said, glancing back at Zeref, "How far along?"

"Seven months."

"Boy or girl?"

"A boy; we're naming him August. Both for the month he'll be born in and for Mavis's favorite month."

"Congratulations yet again." Erza said, taking a sip of her drink.

"But why do I feel like there's more to why you came over here. I'm sure it wasn't to just chat me up about being a parent."

"As usual Erza, I can't keep anything past you." Zeref smirked and his dark eyes seemed to take on a crimson coloration.

Ah, there he was, the real Zeref that she knew. The backstabber and the killer.

"Certain parties view Mavis's pregnancy as a sign of weakness; something to exploit to get under both our skins. It's a laughable notion that these people think that threatening our child will hold any sway over us. However, as sure as I am that this threat is something that I could handle on my own...I'm nothing but cautious."

"You need someone to serve as a bodyguard for Mavis." Erza replied, already knowing where the conversation was heading.

"That's correct. I've already hired Yukino, Kagura, Minerva, and Sorano to form the bulk of her protective detail. However, we're short one member and Mavis recommended you…and given your reputation, I can understand why. And given your friendship with Mavis, I thought this would be something that would interest you. The girls would be yours to command and you'd have free reign over how Mavis and the baby's care are handled. What do you say?"

"Can't you ask your idiot brother for help? I'm sure Natsu would be more than willing."

"I would, but he's too busy protecting and fucking the Heartfilia girl to be of much help to me." Zeref said with a heavy sigh.

Erza polished off her drink with a long gulp, "I'll have to give it some thought. And, more importantly, both you and Mavis will have to take this up with my mother. She has the final say in most of the jobs that I take."

Zeref continued to smirk and bowed his head, "Do give it some thought. Mavis would be happy to have you around and I'm sure Lady Irene and I can come to an agreement. I promise to make it worth your while."

"We'll see." Erza said, her lips forming a thin line.

"I'll be in touch. Goodnight Erza."

"Goodnight…give Mavis my regards." Erza replied and watched the man walk on back to his wife.

"Creep." Erza shook her head. Honestly, she'd never know what Mavis saw in him.

Movement further along the back caught her attention. Erza watched Jellal get up from the booth he had joined Winston at and make his way back to the bar.

She got up, thanked Addy for her drink and bid her farewell, but paused when she watched Jellal slow his pace as another man tried to pass on by. Jellal stopped the man and gave a smile. The other seemed to perk up slightly as well. The man was tall, was dressed in a fine, tailored suit, and kept his hair slicked back and beard trimmed.

He was intimidating, but subtly so, as emphasized by the way Jellal kept him at arm's reach. They were friendly to one another…but at the same time, they seemed to be well aware of what the other was capable of. Even in a place as safe as The Continental, the habits of an assassin were hard to let go of.

The man looked familiar…but she wasn't sure where to place him.

Jellal on the other hand, was speaking to the man as if they were old acquaintances. Given how he was acting, that seemed to be the case.

"Hello John, long time no see." Jellal said with a soft smile, extending his hand.

"Jellal." John greeted, shaking his hand in turn, "It's good to see you again."

"Likewise. Look man, I heard about your wife and I'm so sorry. I would have come to the funeral but I was busy on my end."

"Thank you." John gave a melancholic frown, clearly indicating that he'd rather not be talking about his late wife. Jellal chewed the inside of his cheek, quickly switching topics to avoid having a pencil rammed into his throat.

"What are you doing here? I heard that you had retired." Jellal said, making note of that fact that to the trained eye, John was indeed packing heat. Hell, he could see the slight bulk of a covert ballistic vest tucked beneath his shirt. And retired hitmen don't usually carry around that sort of gear.

"It's nothing long term, I just have some things that need to be taken care of."

"I see…does that mean you're working again?" Jellal asked.

John gave a slight frown, "Something like that, yeah."

"What happened?"

"…Viggo Tarasov's son killed my dog and stole my car."

"Oh," Jellal said, "shit, sorry to hear that. What're you going to do?"

"I think you know." John replied simply.

Jellal gave a nod and glanced over to the bar and noticed Erza make her way back to him. John followed Jellal's gaze and raised his eyebrow.

"What about you?" John asked, "The two of you working together now?"

"Something like that. Her mother hired me to do a cut and run and I couldn't say no."

"Ah." John gave a nod again. Jellal sensed the man wanted to be on his way and decided it was best to let the man go.

"Good seeing you John." Jellal patted the man's shoulder.

"Jellal." John gave a nod of respect and was back on his way.

"Is everything alright?" Erza asked, coming to Jellal's side and watching the dark haired man make his way over to the bar.

"Yeah, we're good to go. Winston approved the job. I'll have to give your mother and the others a call and inform of the news. All he expects of us is to clean up the mess should things get out of hand."

"Good." Erza smiled, "Well at least that's one less thing to worry about."

"You're telling me." Jellal sighed with a nervous laugh. He raised a brow however, when Erza placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That man you stopped, who was that?"

"…John Wick." Jellal said, looping his arm through Erza's and guiding her back to the entrance.

"The Baba Yaga."

Erza's eyes widened and she looked back over her shoulder, now seeing the aforementioned man sitting with Winston at his table.

"That's the Boogeyman?" Erza said, making sure to keep her tone hushed.

Jellal couldn't help the smile the formed on his lips. John Wick was the most skilled and deadly assassin that had ever walked around the dark corners of the criminal underworld. His reputation was so renowned that the mere mention of his name put the fear of God into people. For if the Boogeyman was hunting you, it was best to make peace with your maker and pray for a quick end.

"Well, he's not so exactly the boogeyman," Jellal said with a wry smile, "he's the guy you send to kill the boogeyman. That man is only man in this city that I won't fight. I've done my best to stay on his good side."

"So I've heard," Erza said, "what's he doing here? I thought he retried?"

Jellal sighed heavily, "Someone fucked up big time and pissed him off. And now he's looking to get even."

"Oh…shit. I almost feel sorry for whoever's crossed him." Erza said as they exited the lounge.

"I don't. Want to know why? Because no matter what we do to Crawford Seam is going to look tame compared to whatever that man is about to do."

XXXX

 _ **A few days later…**_

 _ **8:30 PM…**_

Seam's house looked like it could have been made by Frank Lloyd Wright, minus the Zen garden and the high, concrete security wall that lined the property.

The tall glass windows exposed an open floor plan, connecting halls, low roofs, roundabout driveway, and overhanging eaves certainly seemed to fit the man's style. Jellal had to admit that it was a rather nice looking place-expensive and well above the money he had, but nice-and it was shame that the interior would need a remodel or two after tonight.

From the service road up on the hill that overlooked the gated community, it all looked to be a rather calm night what with the moon out and casting everything in a silver glow. It was a tranquility that would hide the violence that was about to occur on this night.

Sticking to the finalized plan, Jellal was providing overwatch for Erza from up on the hill; using the vantage point the service road had over the house to keep an eye on things.

No longer dressed in a sleek business suit and tie, Jellal now wore all black equipment and gear: BDU's, combat boots, Kevlar gloves, a fully loaded CIRAS vest, a half sleeve undershirt, tactical radio, and a balaclava under a Ronin ballistic mask/helmet to hide and protect his head and face.

With a quick wave of his hand, Jellal flipped up the PVS-15 night vision goggles attached to his mask and returned to the van where Erik and Ultear were to retrieve his weapons.

The van was a Mercedes cargo van they had repurposed to suit their needs for jobs such as this. Although disguised as a utility van on the outside, the van was armored to the point that it could stop full powered rifle rounds while the interior featured a suite of electronic surveillance equipment and computers. And, in case things took a turn for the worse, an old M60 light machine gun was ready to deploy at a moment's notice.

"Erza will be arriving any minute now, so best get into position." Erik said from the driver's seat as he checked his wristwatch.

"I'm fully aware of our timetable, thank you for paying attention." Jellal said, his voice muffled by his mask.

"Have you cracked the security system yet?" He asked Ultear as he opened the back door and stepped on in.

The hacker was furiously typing away on her dual computers and chewing on her lip, "Not yet. Because he's a councilman, he's been issued a state run encryption code for his personal and home security. I didn't realize the recent patch they made to the software was this rigid and it's taking me longer to hack into the security cameras."

Jellal gave a short grunt, "Well keep at it, I don't like the idea of both us and Erza being blind when she goes into that house."

"As soon as it's cracked, you'll be the first to know. On the bright side, I was able to hack into their radios so we'll have a partial idea of things until I hack in."

Letting out a small sigh, Jellal retrieved and loaded his weapons: an FNX-45 .45 caliber handgun, fitted with a sound suppressor and tactical laser/light; a 9mm CZ P10C as his backup pistol; and a 7.62mm SOACR battle rifle (an AR-10 variant) set in a sniper configuration. The rifle was fitted with a bipod, sound suppressor, back up red dot sight, and a high powered thermal scope. The scope would prove helpful in keeping an eye on Erza amongst all the shadows and light sources that filled the house. The best part was that all the ammo was unmarked and the weapons were "sanitized", meaning that should anything happen, nothing could be traced back to him.

Grabbing his snipers mat, Jellal returned to his vantage point and laid prone on his stomach, activating and zeroing his scope. The world came alight in white and black hues as the thermal scope sorted out the ambient, natural, and manmade heat sources. The house was about a hundred to two hundred yards away, but it was well within range of his rifle. If any threat came to Erza, she could take comfort in knowing that Jellal was watching over her…so long as he had her in his sights.

And there he waited, letting himself become a part of the night while Ultear continued to work on hacking the homes security system.

Then, at nine o'clock on the dot, he heard Erza's voice in his radio.

" _Can you hear me now?"_ She asked, and he could hear the smirk in her voice.

"Loud and clear." He muttered.

" _I'm coming up to the front gate now, can you see me?"_ Erza asked.

Panning his scope down and to the left, Jellal could see a single luxury sedan making its way up the street and then turn onto the long drive that led up to Seam's house. The front gate opened and the car pulled into the driveway. A man exited the house and approached the car, opening the door and allowing Erza to step out.

"I've got you in my sights." He answered.

Even through the myriad of hues of his scope, Jellal had no trouble in seeing how striking Erza looked on this night.

Her hair was tied back into an elegant knot while two longs bangs were left free to frame heart shape of her face. Although he couldn't see it, he was sure she was wearing makeup that helped accent her already natural beauty. A necklace was tied around her neck, which disguised the radio hidden within. Beneath the fur coat she wore (which she insisted on wearing because she could dispose of it) was what he knew would be a red tube dress, with slits in the skirt to show off just the right amount of leg. And in her hands she held the purse that hid the toxin laced knife.

She looked stunning…and she would undoubtedly lull Seam into a false sense of security, distracting him from danger until it was too late.

" _Please Miss, if you would follow me. Councilman Seam is expecting you."_ The attendant said, breaking Jellal out of his thoughts.

The attendant led Erza through the front doors and Jellal spotted a man standing nearby, a guard if the gun tucked into his belt was anything to go by, give Erza what seemed to be a leering look.

" _I hope I won't have too many eyes on me tonight. After all, Mister Seam is paying to have my attention and my attention alone tonight."_ Erza said, deliberately putting emphasis on certain words.

"Ultear, how are we doing on those cameras?" Jellal asked into his radio while Erza continued to banter with the attendant.

" _I'm still working my way through the firewalls, standby."_ Ultear replied curtly.

"Erza, we're having trouble getting eyes on you. Stay sharp." Jellal radioed back to Erza.

" _Oh no worries,"_ Erza said both to him and the attendant, _"I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. But, if I may ask, where will I be meeting with Mister Seam tonight?"_

" _He'll meet you in the dining room, it's towards the back of the house; please, follow me."_ The attendant replied.

Quickly adjusting his aim, Jellal scanned the building until he spotted a room with tall windows and what seemed to be a long table. The dining room, if he had to guess. After a few minutes, he saw two people enter the room; Erza and the attendant.

" _Take a seat Miss Scarlet, Mister Seam will be with you soon."_ The attendant said and pulled out a chair for her.

" _Thank you."_ She replied sweetly and took her seat.

The attendant stepped away…and began to draw the shades on the windows. Jellal growled out a profanity.

"Erza, I'm going to lose eyes on you. Stay put so my scope can pick you out."

He hoped the window blinds would be thin enough that he could still pick out Erza's thermal signature behind them. Unfortunately, it seemed Murphy's Law was acting in full force tonight; the blinds were too thick for him to see any body heat through the thermal scope.

"Shit." Jellal hissed.

" _What's wrong?"_ Erza asked, her voice hushed.

"I can't see you through my scope anymore; I'm just as blind as you are." Jellal growled, adjusting his scope in hopes of picking up the slightest amount of body heat through the blinds.

" _Ultear?"_ Erza asked.

" _I'm almost there; these last two firewalls are proving to be especially tricky."_ Ultear said, _"Can you move to better spot? Somewhere where Jellal can see you in a gap in the windows or something of that sort?"_

" _No, someone is coming,"_ Erza said before raising her voice, _"Councilman Seam?"_

" _God damn it."_ Jellal thought while Ultear hissed in frustration.

" _Miss Scarlett I presume."_ A deep, new voice announced, _"My, my, you're even lovelier in person; your picture does not do you justice."_

" _Oh, you're too kind sir."_ Erza tittered, _"But flattery will get you nowhere."_

" _Oh, but with such a graceful beauty as you in my home, how can I not compliment you?"_

Jellal rolled his eyes, even as Erza forced a giggle, and prayed the psychopath didn't get any funny ideas when it came to her. Sure she could woo him but she could rip him apart in an instant if she chose to do so. He should know, after all, he had seen her in action plenty of times to know what she was capable of. Hell, he'd been on the receiving end more than once.

" _Would you care for a drink?"_ Seam asked, "I have wine, vodka, bourbon, brandy, and whiskey if you'd like."

" _Vodka please."_

And so an hour passed as Jellal listened to Erza exchange one pleasant conversation after another. Seam still hadn't suspected that anything was amiss when it came to Erza and she was holding her own when it came to lulling down his defenses. Soon, she'd make her move, and he prayed he wouldn't have to go storming in there to get her out.

But, as often as not, fate has a twisted way of throwing a wrench into things…

" _Forgive me for being blunt Mister Seam, but let's drop the formalities here and cut to the chase."_ Erza said.

" _Pardon?"_ Seam asked.

" _We both know you didn't hire me to be here tonight just so we could wine and talk. No, you hired me to give you a memorable night and that's what I plan on doing."_

"… _Are you always this honest with your clients?"_

" _Not when I know that they'd like nothing more than to fuck me; especially when I'm the one who wants to be fucked in turn."_

" _How bold."_ Seam replied, and Jellal could hear the grin in his voice.

" _You don't know the half of it. So why don't we do this…you finish your drink, you take me to your room, and I'll show you a damn good time."_

" _Actually Miss Scarlet, I have a different idea for a 'good time' in mind."_ Seam countered…and his voice took on a sudden maliciousness that sent a cold chill down Jellal's spine.

" _What do you…wait…what is the meaning of this?"_ Erza said, before the sound of her quickly standing could be heard _, "Get away from me!"_

"Erza?" Jellal said, trying to get a visual on her, "Erza what's happening? Erza!?"

" _Let go of me!"_ Erza screamed over the radio, _"Let go-AGH!"_

 _KRRRRSSSSHHHH_

His radio suddenly filled with static and Jellal frantically switched channels to reestablish contact with Erza. But he only received static and white noise with every signal he switched to.

"Fuck!" Jellal hissed and rose from his snipers mat, making a quick run down to the van before hopping over the guard rail.

"What the hell are you thinking? You can't go running in there by yourself!" Erik protested as he leaned out the window of the van.

Jellal ignored him in favor of finding a good place that he could descend down the hill and ridgeline.

"Jellal," Ultear said, emerging from the van, "I know you're worried about her but we have to think this through. We can't just go rushing in there and turn this whole job into a shit storm."

Satisfied with a reasonably safe spot that wouldn't allow him to be gored by a tree, Jellal made to begin bounding down the hill and into the woods below.

"Jellal…" Ultear pressed, trying to be the voice of reason. She grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"I know you care about her, but..." She began only for Jellal to cut her off.

"You didn't see what Seam will do to her if he gets his hands on her." Jellal's voice rasped through his mask.

"I'm not letting her turn into a pin cushion for him to play with. I'm going to hop the wall at the Zen garden I spotted earlier; it's a good way to get in. I'll find Erza from there. Ultear, hack those camera's. Erik, get back onto the main road; I'll call you when I need you."

Erik sighed and shook his head, "You got it boss."

"Jellal…" Ultear pressed.

"I'm not losing her Ultear. I can't afford to…I care about her too much." Jellal sighed heavily. Ultear bit her lip and reluctantly released him from her hold.

"Thank you." He whispered, and began his descent, disappearing into the shadows of the night.

"That fucking idiot is going to get us killed." Erik griped as he turned the key in the ignition.

"Would you be any different if it was Kinana down there?" Ultear asked, coming back into the van.

Erik paused for a moment before looking over his shoulder, "Would you if it were Meredy?"

Ultear frowned and retrieved her laptop, reestablishing a connection to Seam's home network; her fingers quickly dancing over the keyboard.

"Didn't think so." Erik said as he took the van out of park.

"Me neither." Ultear muttered, her attention diverted to cracking the security system.

Meanwhile, Jellal had completed his decent of the hill and ridge in record time and was currently moving between the trees as quickly but as quietly as he could. His mind however, was elsewhere.

Running through the woods, rifle at the ready, he wasn't an assassin at that point in time anymore.

No. He had unwittingly been sent back to when he was young; too young to be carrying a rifle, too young to be running for his life in order to escape the living hell that he'd been forced into. He was once more back in a warzone where the trees had been felled by rockets and artillery; the air filled with the screams of the wounded and dying; flares lighting the nighttime sky, tracers arcing overhead; and Erik at his side, pulling Kinana along with him as they ran from water and muck filled crater to crater, trench to trench.

It was times like this that the past reminded him that it would forever have a hold of him.

The snapping of a branch beneath his feet in turn snapped him back to reality and Jellal found that he was at the high, concrete wall that lined Seam's property.

His breathing was labored and heavy in his ears and he quickly fought to control himself, blinking rapidly and making the memories disappear back into the dark corners of his mind.

" _That was then,"_ Jellal thought, _"this is now. Focus on the present and_ only _the present."_

" _You alright?"_ Erik's voice sounded in his radio, _"I can hear you dude. Your breathing is out of synch."_

Jellal sighed heavily and clicked his radio mic twice before adding, his voice low, "I'm fine."

Focusing back on the task at hand, Jellal saw that the wall was smooth and had no footholds for him to clamber up on.

He'd have to improvise.

He was nothing if resourceful, however, and he was quickly scaling a tall oak tree and shimmying across one of the branches that reached over the wall. A quick scan of the grounds beneath him found that it was empty-for now-and Jellal carefully dropped down onto the wall and then to the property. Bringing the SOACR up to his shoulder, Jellal aimed down his rifle's back up red dot sight, scanning the looming shadows of the Zen garden through his night vision.

The place was quiet; the kind of quiet that fills a graveyard. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

He didn't like it.

Sticking to the same shadows he had just scanned, Jellal was practically a ghost befitting of his moniker.

" _ **Leben Geist, Leben Geist, Leben Geist,"**_ a voice silently chanted in the back of his mind, _**"haunt them, hunt them, and kill them. Show them that ghosts are real Leben Geist."**_

Jellal ignored the voice and made it fade back into his mind; back with the memories and ghosts of his past.

A shape moved at his peripheral and he froze, slowly turning to the right to see a guard enter the garden. Slowly taking a knee, Jellal trained his rifle on the man and waited for him to come and begin his patrol. But, instead, the guard walked on over to the nearby koi pond and took a seat at the bench. He then produced a blunt and lit up.

Jellal didn't know what kind of security Seam had on hand, but if they were the kind to light up on the job, then they either didn't take their job too seriously or were being paid too much and were bored. Either way, their funeral.

Jellal lined his red dot sight up with the man's skull and subsequently blasted the top of it off with a suppressed 7.62mm round. The guard dropped like a sack of bricks into the koi pond. Jellal waited for other guards to come rushing into the area…but none came.

Moving out from the shadows, Jellal moved past the pond and exited where the guard entered. He was out towards the front of the house, near a maintenance shed and roundabout driveway. There was a guard near the front gate where Erza had come in and two near the front door. The guard at the gate was scrolling on his phone and the guards at the door were smoking, not paying attention. Ducking behind a nearby bush, Jellal was wondering how he was going to tackle the three guards when Ultear's hushed voice came over the radio.

" _Jellal?"_ She asked, _"Jellal can you hear me?"_

Jellal clicked his mic twice.

" _I've finally hacked into the security system. Right now it seems like most of the guards are either on break or starting their patrol on the other side of the building. I see there's a dead guard in the Zen garden you just entered in from, that was you I take it?"_

Another double mic click.

" _You're in luck, the camera for the garden is offline…look, the guards at the front are being watched so if you kill them the alarm will sound. But, I pulled up the floor plans for this place and if you keep going to your right, you'll find an old servants entrance that you can use to get in. Follow the passageway and it'll take you in near the dining room. Once inside, I'll play havoc with the cameras and guide you around, but you'll have to move quickly."_

Jellal didn't answer. He stayed in a half crouch and kept to the shadow of the building, staying along the wall of the Zen garden. Two minutes later, he spotted the servants entrance. He almost missed it to, seeing how it was hidden between an alcove and a mess of ivy. Approaching the door, he found it to be padlocked.

Muttering a curse under his breath, Jellal slung his rifle and drew his FNX-45; making sure the suppressor was fitted properly. Not wanting to bash the lock off and make a ruckus, and knowing Erza was running out of time, Jellal blasted the padlock with three well placed shots. The lock fell to pieces and the door slowly creaked open. Pistol raised, Jellal activated the pistols IR light and laser and entered the house. The passage beyond was dark, even with his night vision and IR light on. Being mindful that he was now in the house, Jellal measured his footsteps so as to not arouse suspicion from anyone who may be walking the halls. After ascending a small set of stairs, Jellal came to door and carefully opened it. Pistol at the ready, Jellal poked his head out and found that he was in a hallway; the door had been designed to blend in with the wall. The lights were also on, meaning that he could switch off his night vision.

" _I see you."_ Ultear said into his radio _, "Go down the hall to the right. At the end, make a left and you'll enter the dining room. I don't see anyone in there."_

Jellal ducked out of the passage, closing the door behind him, and followed Ultear's instructions. The hall was lined with an assortment of paintings that looked like they belonged in an art museum rather than a city councilman's home.

He was soon at the end of the hall, and sure enough, off to his left was the dining room. It was a wide, open space with a long table, ornate chairs, a small-well stocked-bar, double doors that led to the kitchen, and the windows faced the lake. The chair nearest to him was the only one out of place and upon closer inspection, he noticed something on the floor.

"Erza's purse." Jellal muttered, picking up the discarded item and finding her knife was still inside. Not only was Erza missing, she was unarmed.

He tucked it into his vest, both to hide evidence and return it to her once they got out of the place.

"Erza," Jellal hissed into his radio, "Erza if you can hear me, I'm inside the house and I'm coming for you. Make some noise if you can hear me."

He was only met static…and a dull feedback tone?

Odd, it sounded like the tone was coming from within the dining room; a whisper in his ear.

Looking around the dining room, trying to source the noise, a glint in the light on the floor caught his attention. Bending down, Jellal tensed. It was Erza's necklace; the one that held her hidden radio. It had been ripped from her neck and stepped on; whether by accident or on purpose, Jellal didn't care, but he now knew why she couldn't hear him or respond to him.

" _Hide; now!"_ Ultear suddenly hissed and Jellal quickly scrambled beneath the table without question.

The doors to the kitchen opened a guard entered the room; humming a tune in addition to the sound of chewing. Jellal, lying flat on his side, watched the man's legs pass the chair legs while keeping his pistol trained on him.

The guard then pulled up a chair and sat down to continue eating his snack. After three minutes passed, it became the apparent the guard was going to take his sweet time. Jellal exhaled heavily out his noise in irritation.

He tapped his suppressor against the bottom of the table. The man ceased his humming and chewing and gave a surprised grunt. Jellal tapped the table again.

"What the hell?" The guard muttered and bent down to see what was under the table. He was greeted with a .45 caliber hollow point to the stomach. The guard jerked back with a pained gasp and fell from the chair, the Tupperware container he'd been eating out of spilling onto the floor.

Jellal's arm reached out and he pulled the struggling man under the table and was atop him in no time. The man tried to grab his gun but Jellal broke his wrist; he tried to scream but was silenced when Jellal forced his suppressor into his mouth.

"I'm short on time so I'm going to make this quick," Jellal growled, "the woman who was brought in here, where is she?"

The guard trembled in both pain in fear and he tried to push against Jellal with his good hand. In turn, Jellal shoved his thumb into the man's gut wound and began to squeeze his pistols trigger. The man panicked then and began to speak, his voice muffled and unintelligible by the silencer and blood filling his mouth.

Jellal removed the gun and instead pressed it to his temple. The man gasped for breathe, in pain.

"I'll talk," he choked, "I'll talk."

"Yes?" Jellal hissed.

"Seam…Seam told us to grab her once she was settled in. We watched as she came in through the front door…as Seam talked with her…and when he gave us the signal, we moved in. She tried to fight back but we got a hold of her and took her to Seam's private room; the room where he takes the girls when he wants to entertain himself."

"Private room?" Jellal asked, "As in his office?"

"No…no the…the basement." The guard coughed up a mess of blood, "It's got a bed and all this weird doctors' stuff in it but that's all that I know. Please…please I don't know what he does in there, I'm not paid to-"

"Shut up." Jellal snapped, before adding into his radio, "Ul', did you catch that?"

" _Pulling up the blueprints now."_ Ultear said, _"Alright…the basement is large but I don't see anything that matches what the man is telling you."_

Jellal growled lowly and pressed his thumb deeper into the guards wound, "If you're lying to me, so help me God…"

The guard coughed in a fit of pain; tears were now streaming from his eyes.

"Side…side of the basement…there's a room, hidden behind some shelves…pull the shelf and you'll find it."

"How typical." Jellal muttered.

"Even…even if you find that woman, Seam isn't going to let you walk out of here." The guard rasped, "You're good as dead; the both of you."

"We'll see about that." And with that, Jellal put a bullet through the guards head.

Crawling out from under the table, Jellal left the guard where he was and reset the chair; hoping if anyone was looking at the camera, he'd be able to buy himself some time. Never mind the obvious mess he'd made.

" _Cut through the kitchen and exit out right," Ultear said once more, "head down the hall until you find more windows facing the lake. Follow them to the left and stop halfway; there'll be a door that leads downstairs into the basement."_

"Got it. What's the quickest way out of the basement if we need to make a quick escape?" Jellal asked.

" _Head back the way you came up the basement stairs but go left. Follow the hall until you reach a small library, cut through the library and adjacent living rooms, and you'll be at the front door. From there, it's a straight shot to the front gate."_

"Roger, I'll be in touch."

" _Jellal…if you don't find Erza…"_

"I'll find her. And once I do, I'm going to kill Seam and get her out of this place." Jellal said and double timed it out of the dining hall and through the kitchen.

He passed a man wearing a chef's coat but the man was busy washing dishes with a pair of headphones on blasting music so loud that even he could hear the lyrics. He was too distracted to have heard what happened in the dining room and wouldn't have heard him pass on by.

Sparring the man a quick look, Jellal rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe no one had noticed that something was amiss in the house; it was almost like they were the villain's inept goons in some mediocre story.

Following Ultear's instructions, Jellal made his way along the hall of windows until he spotted the door she had told him about. Gripping the handle, Jellal gave it tug…but found it to be locked. It was Duke Everlue's mansion all over again.

With a growl of frustration and anger, Jellal summoned all of his rage into a single, direct kick against the door…and knocked it off its hinges; the brass buckling and wood splintering.

Carefully descending the stairs, Jellal found that the basement was lit by a series of flickering fluorescent lights, revealing various boxes of old belongings, a work bench off to the left, and an improvised gym with various weights and machines taking up the space in the back. They must've belonged to the previous owner or guards because given how Seam kept packing pounds, he couldn't imagine the word "exercise" being in his vocabulary.

Activating his pistols laser sight, Jellal cast aside his errant thoughts, and made his way to the right of the basement which indeed, were lined with shelves. Taking just a moment to study the shelves, Jellal examined them for any excessive wear and tear or if any of them had been replaced recently. He was rewarded with nothing; the shelves were still lined with an assortment of junk, knickknacks, and dust accumulated from over the years.

Taking a calming breath, Jellal looked along the floor for signs of any scrapes in the concrete or dirt on the floor. There were none…save for the shelf to his far right. There were no scrapes in the concrete, however, there were small pilings of dust that littered the floor before it. Stepping over to it, Jellal examined the shelf and after moving some old jars, found a series of hinges. The removal of an old cooking book revealed a small handle.

Smiling in triumph and with a grunt of effort (because the shelf was heavy with all the junk still piled up on it), Jellal pulled it back to reveal a short, earthen hallway. It was supported by wood and concrete and lit by utility string lights. And there, at the very end, twenty yards ahead of him, was a door.

Pistol raised Jellal made the short trip down the hall, hearing his pulse beat faster in his ears when the sounds of muffled struggling and voices could be heard. Four men…and a woman; Erza.

" _Let go of me! Let go of me damn you!"_

" _AGH! BITCH!"_

" _Dammit it Billy, that's the second time she's kicked you in the balls."_

" _Stop struggling you damn bitch and take what's coming to you!"_

" _What the hell am I paying you idiots for!? Restrain her!"_

" _But Mister Seam…"_

" _You've already strapped down her arms, now do the same for the legs! It's that simple Samuel!"_

Now at the door, Jellal pressed himself against it; weighing what little options he had. He didn't have any stun grenades, so he couldn't disorient those on the other side of the door. He could pull the door back and go in guns blazing, but there was so much risk involved with that.

" _She broke one of the restraints!"_ One of Seam's men called out, " _Fuck it; we'll hold her down!"_

There was a few seconds of thrashing before Erza screamed in anger.

" _Finally,"_ Seam said, _"now…Miss Scarlett, please stop struggling. How am I supposed to perform my art if you don't stay still? Your body is such a nice canvass, I'd hate to tarnish it."_

Seam made up Jellal's mind for him. Gripping the door handle, Jellal took a series of calming breathes and embraced the adrenaline that filled his veins. Pistol ready, Jellal wrenched the door back and entered the room; his mind processing everything he saw before him in an instant.

The room was made of concrete with a single, incandescent light suspended from the ceiling. To the left, lining the wall, were a series of tools; saws of various sizes, power drills, and bolt cutters. On tables beneath tools were an assortment of medical scissors, knives, scalpels, and dental tools. To his right, a makeshift shower, a hose, and sink; they all drained into an opening in the floor. At the back of the room, freshly cleaned body bags were hung out to dry. And at the center of it all was Erza, being held down on a medical gurney; her outstretched arms being held out by two guards while another held her by the ankles. Councilman Crawford Seam stood over her, a scalpel in hand and medical shears cutting open her dress.

It took them all a second to realize that Jellal had entered the room. They hesitated; he did not.

He squeezed off two shots, double tapping the guard that held Erza by the legs. The guard closest to Seam had just drawn his gun when Jellal dropped him and when he shifted his aim, the other guard had already taken aim and fired.

The first bullet hit his ballistic mask, deflecting off just beneath his eye while the second hit him in the chest, knocking him back. He let himself fall onto his back, not caring that he'd been winded, and aimed up, emptying half of his guns magazine into the guard.

"Jellal!" Erza gasped, her voice tight with fear.

Sucking in a pained breath, Jellal rolled onto his side and found Seam holding Erza's hands behind her back and the scalpel pressed to her throat; he kept her pressed close to him, using her as a shield. The man glowered at Jellal as he rose and the two men locked gazes.

"I don't know who you are or what you're doing here," Seam growled, "but you just ruined what was meant to be perfect evening."

"Let her go asshole." Jellal replied, steadying his aim; his weapon laser drawing a bead on Seam's forearm. He was hesitant to squeeze the trigger, however, knowing that if he fired the bullet would rip through the arm and hit Erza.

"Jellal," Erza said, her voice strained, "what are you waiting for? _Shoot!_ "

"Shut your mouth slut." Seam growled, pressing the scalpel's edge against her throat and drawing blood.

"I can't do that Erza." Jellal replied, "And didn't you hear me, I said let her go."

"No…no, here's what's going to happen." Seam said with a smug smirk, "You're going to lower your gun and let me go, unless you want to see Miss Scarlet's throat split open."

"Hurt her and it's the last thing you'll ever do." Jellal countered.

"And it's that response that tells me you two know one another…so that must mean you don't want to see any harm come to her. I am curious as to what you are doing here. Were you watching Erza, like some loyal guard dog? Or was this all some elaborate ploy to get to me?"

"Let her go and I'll be happy to tell you."

Seam chuckled, "As tempting as that offer is, I think I'll decline. It matters not, however. I have my ways of finding these things out. But back to the point; let me and Miss Scarlett go and I won't slit her throat. If you let my guards capture you, I promise to make your death relatively painless."

"And leave Erza with you? Not a chance."

"Miss Scarlet is quite lovely and I'd hate to see such a pretty little thing like her go to waste. Not when I could have so much fun with her."

"That's not going to happen."

"You're in no position to say otherwise." Seam sneered.

Jellal growled but knew Seam was right. With the way he was holding Erza, there was no way he'd be able to save Erza without killing both Seam and her. He needed to think of something quick if he wanted to end this little standoff of theirs. From the look in her eyes, Jellal knew Erza was trying to formulate and escape of her own, but was in no position to act. The two shared a look; both weighing their options.

A heartbeat passed.

And then another.

"Well mister man in black?" Seam gloated, "What will it be?"

Jellal adjusted the grip on his gun…and noticed he still had his laser sight on. An idea quickly began to form. Subtly, he nodded his chin towards the ground and Erza caught the gesture, her own eyes glancing downwards. Jellal shifted his foot ever so slightly and flexed his toes beneath his boot. When she looked back up, he was lowering his gun, and giving his weapon laser a slight tap with his finger. Erza's gaze hardened and she drew her lips into a thin line.

"That's more like it." Seam smirked and began to move, dragging Erza along as he did so.

It was then that she struck.

With a fierce cry, Erza raised her foot and stomped her heel down upon Seam's; the narrow point driving itself into his foot. Seam howled in pain and released Erza out of reflex.

She dropped to the floor and Jellal quickly snapped his gun back up, aiming the laser sight directly into Seam's eyes. Blinded, Seam raised his hands to block out the red laser only for Jellal to empty the rest of his guns magazine into him. The man shuddered with each shot before he finally stumbled back against the wall and slid to the floor, dead; a trail of crimson following him down the wall as he slid.

Out of habit, Jellal quickly reloaded his pistol before taking a knee to check on a trembling Erza.

"Erza are you alright?" He asked.

Her breathing was ragged and she had a wild look in her eyes. Before he could stop her, she grabbed Seam's scalpel off the floor and with a fierce cry of rage, pounced on Seam's body. Her movements were as swift as they were vicious as Erza cut into Seam's body, each slice and stab punctuated by a cry.

"Erza!" Jellal grunted as he grabbed a hold of her and pulled her back, "Erza that's enough!"

But she refused, intent on butchering Seam like he had intended to butcher her. She kicked and flailed in his arms, struggling to break free. It was only when Jellal spun her around, gripping her shoulders, and forcefully shaking her did she seem to snap back to reality.

"ERZA!" Jellal barked, "STOP!"

He removed his mask, softening his voice, "That's enough. He's dead, he can't hurt you any longer."

"Jellal…" She whispered, her eyes quickly filling with tears, "I…I…"

He pulled her into a gentle embrace, wrapping his arms around her and running his hand through her hair. She was quick to return to the embrace, her hands shaking as she held onto him.

"I…I was so afraid he was going to kill me." Erza choked out as tears began to stream down her face, "I thought you wouldn't get to me in time."

"I promised I would look after you." Jellal soothed, "Listen…we need to get out of here. It won't be long before the rest of the guards begin to realize their buddies are missing and they'll come looking for them. We need to be out of here when that happens. Can you stand?"

Swallowing hard and finding her strength, Erza stood with Jellal.

"Can you fight?"

"Yeah…yeah I can fight." Erza replied, "I need a weapon."

Jellal drew his P10C backup pistol and handed it to her, along with her knife, which he drew from her purse.

"You may not have been able to use it on Seam but if we run into anyone, well, at least you can ruin their night." Jellal smirked, covering his face with his mask once more.

"Smartass." Erza snorted, flicking the blade on her knife open and spinning it into a reverse grip while with her free hand while holding the P10C with the other.

A radio blared to life on one of the fallen guard's hips, startling them both.

" _Sam? Sam, do you read?"_ The voice on the radio asked _, "Sam, Councilman Seam's pacemaker just flat lined, what's wrong?"_

"Pacemaker?" Jellal asked as Erza knelt down to Seams' corpse, tearing open his shirt. Sure enough, there was a surgical scar and disk shaped bump on his chest, right near his heart.

"Oh shit." Erza muttered.

" _Sam, what the hell is going on down there, is everything okay? Sam? Sam!?"_ The voice continued before the speaker swore and an alarm was sounded over the radio. The shrill whine filled the confined space of the room.

"We're about to have company." Jellal said turning to the door, "Let's move."

Together, Jellal and Erza exited the basement and made their way back into the main house. Remembering Ultear's instructions, Jellal guided Erza through the middle of the house. They had just neared the library when Jellal radioed Erik.

"Erik, this is Jellal, we need extraction; now!"

" _On the way boss, just sit tight."_ Erik replied, the sound of the vans engine roaring to life filled the background.

"Make it quick, we don't have much time before- _Oof!_ "

Jellal grunted as he ran headlong into a guard and the two toppled over. Erza slid to a stop as did the guard that had been following his partner, the two dumbfounded as to what had just happened. It took a half a second for both parties to react to what had just happened.

"Holy shit!" The second guard yelled, quickly drawing his gun on Erza while Jellal and the first guard grappled and wrestled on the floor.

Erza was quick in shooting the second guard with a quick double tap while Jellal, after smashing the first guards head against the floor, drew his knife and jammed it into the man's carotid artery.

"Hey!" A new voice barked, and both Jellal and Erza turned to find a third guard standing at the entrance to the opposite side of the library. Both wasted no time in gunning him down. Even as he fell, a new guard let out a cry of surprise before leaning out of hall and returning fire.

Jellal and Erza took cover on opposite sides of the entrance with Jellal holstering his pistol and drawing his rifle, while Erza ducked back as a bullet ricocheted off the floor.

"We have to get out of here fast or they'll be all over us." Erza said as she returned fire.

"Just push on through." Jellal said as he switched his rifle to fully automatic and blasted the opposite end of the library. The barrage of 7.62mm rounds punched through both book and wall and the errant guard fell.

Another took his place, however, this one brandishing an MP5 sub machine gun and returning fire.

"All we have to do is push through here and the living rooms and it's a straight shot out the front door."

"You make it sound so easy." Erza griped as she spun around, just in time to double tap two guards that had attempted to flank them.

"You have any better ideas?" Jellal said as he swapped magazines, "Because this is the only one I was able to make on short notice."

Erza rolled her eyes and joined Jellal in returning fire, "You're going to owe me so much after tonight is over."

"I'm perfectly aware." Jellal grunted as he broke cover and charged into the library, firing his rifle as he did so. Erza was close behind.

Together, they met the guards that seemed to flood into the library. Jellal dropped half of them by dumping his magazine into the first few guards, the high caliber bullets tearing through two or even three guards. When his rifle was emptied, and he had no time to draw his pistol, he drew his knife and used his hands.

He throat punched a guard before jamming the dagger into his aorta and letting him fall when the blade was ripped out of him. He swept another's leg out from under him, wrenching his gun out of his hand, and using it to not only kill him but two other guards, before finally delivering a mighty right hook that sent a guard careening into a nearby bookshelf, toppling it over as he did so. The man tried to stand but Jellal was quick with his knife.

Erza had done much of the same to the guards she dealt with. When her pistol ran dry, she used it as an improvised weapon; using the muzzle to throat punch and the grip to pistol whip, in order to stun her opponents. She then stabbed and slashed with her knife, relying on the jellyfish poison that coated the blade to incapacitate and summarily kill.

It had all ended in a matter of minutes but there was to be no reprieve; the two could hear more guards thundering down upon them.

"How many damn guards does this guy have?" Erza snarled as Jellal handed her a fresh magazine for her pistol.

"Who cares, let's just get the hell out of here." He said as he reloaded his rifle, the two of them bolting out of the library as he did so.

They dashed through the adjacent living rooms before finding the front doors open and waiting for them. There were no guards on a smoke break this time as they descended the front steps and more than likely, Jellal vaguely thought, he and Erza had probably just killed them.

"Erik, where are you?" He said into the radio, his voice tense.

" _Just a few more minutes boss, hang tight."_ Erik replied.

The two took cover near the fountain at the center of the driveways roundabout, the sound of raised voices from inside the home growing closer.

"We don't have a few minutes." Jellal hissed just as the first of the pursuing guards exited the front door. Erza was quick downing him with her pistol and Jellal aimed for the door.

"Erik. _Step. On. It_." Jellal said through clenched teeth.

More guards appeared and Jellal opened fire with his rifle, killing two guards while the rest scrambled inside or dove off to the side for cover, using support pillars for cover. Windows shattered and muzzle flashes appeared from inside the house. Dirt and concrete were kicked up from bullets; whether from receiving or returning fire, it was hard to tell.

"They've got us pinned!" Erza said, ducking as a bullet nicked the fountain just a little too close for comfort.

"Where the hell are Erik and Ultear!?"

"Erik, now would be a really great time for a rescue!" Jellal called into his radio over the gunfire, before concentrating his fire on the windows.

The upper receiver of his rifle suddenly let out a burst of sparks and the weapon ceased firing.

"Fuck! Malfunction!" Jellal yelled, his weapons training immediately kicking in. He quickly worked to clear the rifles action, figuring there had been a misfire or a cartridge had failed to extract. But only when his rifle's charging handle refused to budge did he realize his problem.

A bullet had gotten lucky and hit the bolt through the ejector port; damaging the bolt carrier and rendering it inoperable. Jellal let out a series of profanity laced curses both in Fiorean and his native tongue.

"My rifle's done for; cover me!" Jellal snapped as she slung his rifle.

"Hurry!" Erza said, popping up to lay down suppressing fire, for all the good it would do with her pistol.

He had just drawn his pistol when movement caught his attention.

A guard had entered his peripheral, off to the left and coming past the low hedge that separated the pool from the house. He must have been one of the smarter guards since it seemed he had used the confusion at the front door to sneak out the side of the house and flank him and Erza.

Turning his head to face the new threat, it took him half a second to realize that this guard was armed with an AR-15.

And it took him another to realize that he wasn't aiming for him…but for Erza.

He didn't think, only acted. He was shielding Erza before she had a chance to understand what he was doing, before she registered the crack of a high powered rifle.

Jellal felt the .223 caliber round hit his side, knocking the wind out him as the bullet met his body armor. Jellal stumbled but turned to face the shooter, still protecting Erza, and raised his pistol to return fire. But the guard fired again before he could and a second supersonic crack filled the air; only then did Erza realize what was happening. The second bullet hit him above his side armor and pain cascaded across his body. He felt the air in his lungs leave him and he collapsed to the ground in a heap.

His side screamed in agony, it hurt to breathe, and when he pulled his hand away from the wound, it was smeared in blood.

Erza returned fire with his P10C and emptied the last rounds in the magazine into the shooter, riddling him with bullets.

"I'm out, I need a new mag!" Erza said as she ducked back down and turned to him, expecting see him have a fresh magazine at the ready. Instead, she saw him, lying on his side and blood seeping out onto the ground.

"Erza…" His voice came out in a pained wheeze. Erza blinked once and then twice before her eyes widened in realization and horror.

" _Jellal!"_ she screamed.

XXXX

A/N: And I end with a cliffhanger! DUN-DUN-DUN!

This chapter was a lot of fun to write and I did enjoy dusting off my action writing (I do hope one or two of you appreciated/enjoyed the John Wick references). I also hope it all fitted together in a cohesive manner as I tried to add the right amount of action and detail without get overly descriptive.

The next chapter will be the final chapter as this is a three-shot. However, I think you'll find the final chapter to be a bit more on the… _steamy_ side of things.

As far as updating this goes, in between updating my other works, I will try and finish this before summer ends. So hopefully sometime in mid to late August or early September at the latest. I'm going to work on finishing up the double update I have planned for "Vendetta" in the meantime and then I'm going to hit both "Vice" and "Songs From the Sea". After that, I'll either come back to this either before or after I update "Between Light and Shadow".

To put it bluntly, I'll update at some point sooner or later when I get other things taken care of.

As per usual, if you guys have any comments or questions, please put it in your review and I'll make sure to respond to you in the next chapter. If you have anything else that you wish to ask me or clarify, you can PM me and I'll do my best to respond ASAP.

Until next time; read, review and most importantly of all, HAPPY READING!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back! I know it's been a while but here I am; alive and kicking.

I want to take a moment to apologize for apparently being dead to the world since summer ended and I have a perfectly reasonable excuse as to why this happened: _**I got a full time job**_. Right at the end of August I was quickly hired on as a security guard and have been working as such since. I'm currently working the graveyard shift and whenever I'm forced to take overtime which is a lot because we seem to constantly short staffed and have make up for that. It's something out of my hands and not much can be done about it.

It has been a somewhat taxing and tiring job and it's really cut into my free/writing time, so hence my absence. I have been writing and working on things…just at severely cut amount as opposed to what I'm used to because I have no energy to write most of the time, so I apologize if I'm a little rusty.

Any who, I want to (once again) apologize for my lengthy absence and I promise to try and be better about keeping my updates more common. To those of you who read and follow my writing, I just want to let you all know that words can't describe how grateful I am for your patience and understanding.

 _ **WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SEXUAL CONTENT; READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.**_

As usual before we continue, here is a shout out to those of you who left a review the last time around:

 _ **Fish-Fish Jun-Tenshi:**_ Hello and welcome back! If you said 'Oh my' last time, I hope this chapter gets a similar response, lol.

 _ **Doesofdream:**_ Hello and welcome to the story. It's weird with Fairy Tail being over; not seeing a new chapter pop each week you know? I already gave my thoughts on FT coming to an end in the previous chapter but I can understand why people did or did not like the ending all the same. But you are right about us having fanfics for this sort of thing. I'm happy to hear that you took the time to read the story so far and I hope you enjoy this final chapter.

 _ **Just3because3:**_ Hello and welcome to the story! I'm glad you enjoyed the story so far and I kind of got a laugh out your reaction to Jellal getting shot. Don't worry; Erza will take good care of Jellal *nudge, nudge, wink, wink* If you like possessive Erza and handsy Irene, you're going to like a certain scene in this chapter.

 _ **SulliMike23:**_ Hey dude, long time no see! Welcome back. Oh yeah, this chapter will show plenty of 'alone time' for Jellal and Erza; hope you enjoy it.

 _ **FreyjaBee:**_ Hello my friend from afar! Welcome back! Sorry it took me so long to finish this up but as we've discussed in PM's, you kind of know my reasons lol. Yep, the job did go horribly wrong and now we get to see the fallout from it. I'm glad you like the action scenes; for me, they can be hard to get right and I always worry about them being too complicated or overly detailed. Either way, glad you liked them all the same and I'm sure you'll be liking Jellal's backstory on this one. Hope you enjoy the conclusion to the story!

 _ **Masamune Uchiha:**_ Hello and welcome to the story; glad you're enjoying it!

 _ **Lilfoxy55:**_ Hello! I'm glad you're enjoying this little story and I'm sorry for making you wait for the ending. Life got in the way, not much I can do about that. I hope this ending chapter leaves you satisfied!

 _ **Canislupuswolf:**_ Continued, lol.

Now with that all said and done…I present to you the conclusion of our story!

XXXX

CHAPTER 3

XXXX

 _You wear your heart so fearless, it's like it doesn't beat_

 _You push away my demons when they torture me_

 _Don't think that I can fight this pressure pulling me underneath_

 _It's like I've got the whole world tied around my feet_

Periscope – Papa Roach ft. Skylar Grey

XXXX

 _ **Tower of Heaven: Luxury High Rise Apartments…**_

 _ **Irene Belserion's Penthouse…**_

For Irene Belserion, the night had been nothing short of wonderful.

The day had been productive for her various businesses and she had finally bought out two of Acnologia's most loyal suppliers to her side...under the threat that she would gut them like fish and then immolate them if they didn't, of course.

Meanwhile, her daughter and Jellal were in the process of eliminating Crawford Seam; the only obstacle in her way to getting onto the City Council. As a matter of fact, they should be finishing up right about now and she awaited their follow up call with great anticipation.

It was all coming together, she thought with a smug smirk. One step at a time, it was all coming together.

And to top it all off, she finally convinced Anna Heartfilia to take a night off and just unwind. Or, in this case, become _entwined_.

Anna sat in an ornate wooden chair at the center of the bedroom; bare as the day she was born, dripping with sweat and other fluids, and her cheeks tinted a fiery red. Her hair was still tied up in an elegant knot from earlier that evening, but she was now blindfolded, gagged, and had a collar and leash securely and _tightly_ fitted around her neck. Her legs were spread open wide-her ankles lashed to chair's legs-while her torso and arms were bound in a series of intricate knots that wrapped around her middle, her breasts, and over her shoulders. Her smooth skin was covered in a series of read marks from Irene's other toys or from the woman herself; namely bite marks and various hickeys.

Irene herself was devoid of all clothing, as was her usual appearance on such occasions, and sported only a heavy sheen of sweat from rigorous "love making" and other activities.

She had met Anna years ago at a gala fundraiser for the hospital Anna worked at, hosted of course, by Jude Heartfilia; the CEO and owner of Heartfilia Konzern. Jude also happened to be the husband to her late twin sister, Layla. Irene had been immediately drawn to Anna, finding the successful but somewhat mousy woman to be just delectable. They had spent the evening talking about a number of things ranging from politics to how Anna never cared that much for Jude, how she worried about Layla's health, and her concerns for her beloved niece; Lucy. Talking had led to a few drinks, which led to a dance, and then finally to Anna's bedroom…but then again, Irene hadn't exactly been subtle towards the woman throughout the night about her desire.

They'd been seeing each other on and off ever since. More so recently with how busy they'd both been; the two women finding a twisted form of stress relief in one another.

Aside from Jellal, Anna was her favorite toy. As much as she enjoyed making the blue haired man squirm and tick-as much as she enjoyed making Erza seethe when she took him from her- being with Anna always brought a special satisfaction that made breaking her all the more sweet.

To the public, Anna was the cities top surgeon; a woman who was dedicated to saving others, a philanthropist who championed medical research, and was viewed as a truly genuinely kind and caring individual. But behind closed doors…Anna's personal vices greatly contradicted the image she had built for the public. Irene had been surprised at how kinky and submissive Anna truly was but now…now she relished in putting such a respected individual beneath her boot. Or "in her place", as Anna had often told her.

The evening they had shared together provided the perfect example.

It started off with an early dinner at one of the city's top and hardest to get into restaurants; the kind of place where you had to make a reservation months in advance to get into…or bribe the owners with the right amount of money which was no trouble for Irene.

In their own private booth-tucked away from prying eyes-Irene had promised Anna a night of nothing but dark and sensual things. Anna tried to turn down such offerings but in the end, all it had taken were a few gentle caresses along her hand and arm; a wandering hand up the slit of her dress and into her panties; and few well timed kisses to silence any protests and Irene had Anna wrapped around her finger.

But Irene knew Anna could never say no; it was all part of the game they played.

From there, they made their way back to Irene's penthouse apartment. Over a few glasses of wine, the two took a relaxing dip in the outdoor hot tub-sans clothing of course-before Irene had guided Anna to the bedroom. Which, for the both of them, was where the evening truly began.

It was only after a round or two of heated and rough love making that Irene fully exerted her control over Anna, which led them to the current moment.

Irene pulled the leash back tight and the collar constricted around Anna's neck, making her choke and gag. Irene smirked darkly as Anna trembled, not out of fear or pain, but arousal. The blush on her cheeks darkened as if to emphasize this. Irene hummed deeply and traced her hand over Anna's breasts, taking her time in caressing and pinching her hardened nipples before letting her hand fall lower to the junction of Anna's legs. She had barely tweaked the hardened nub or brushed the tips of her fingers over Anna's dripping wet folds and the woman was already moaning and crying out into her gag. Anna tried bucking her hips into Irene's touch but her restraints kept her from doing so, denying her the relief she desperately sought.

For Irene, it was a sight that sent a thrill trough her and she bit her lip in an attempt to keep her own arousal in check.

"You're such a naughty girl," Irene said, placing a kiss at the hollow of Anna's throat, making her tense, "you're such a _slut_."

Irene placed a kiss on Anna's cheek while her free hand delved a finger into Anna's wet heat. Anna cried out, the sound muffled by her gag and ground her hips into Irene's touch.

"Am I wrong?" Irene mused, "Am I wrong in calling you that?"

Anna nodded her head and Irene gave a sadistic grin. She added a second finger and began to roughly pump the digits in and out of the other woman. Anna's body locked up before she began to thrash about in the chair. Irene pulled tighter on the leash and constricted Anna once more; tightening and tightening until it seemed that Anna would become blue in the face. Irene's fingers were now producing a series of lewd, wet noises from her lover.

"Am I wrong?" Irene asked again, her breathe coming out in light pants.

This time Anna shook her head.

"That's what I thought. But you're not just any slut are you? You're _my_ slut."

Anna nodded.

" _You're my pet?"_

Anna nodded again, more fervently this time. Her smile wicked, Irene removed the gag from Anna's mouth and the woman gasped for air when Irene loosened her grip on the leash.

"And who do you belong to?" Irene asked, stilling her ministrations as Anna's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

"Come on Anna, you know what you need to say." Irene gently bit the shell of Anna's ear, whispering heatedly into it.

"Say the magic words and bliss shall be yours."

Anna swallowed hard and took a gulp of air, "Y-You."

Her voice was hoarse, desperate, and filled with a twisted mixture of lust and desire.

"Louder." Irene demanded.

"You."

"Louder." Irene pressed.

"You!" Anna cried out, "God damn it! I belong to you!"

Satisfied, Irene gave an aroused growl as she straddled Anna and mashed their lips together; her hand letting go of the leash so that she could grip the back of the woman's head, while her other hand resumed pleasuring Anna. It didn't take long for Anna to reach her climax after that. The two women panted against each other's lips as Irene removed the blindfold and rested her forehead against Anna's.

"Good girl." She smirked, "Keep this up and I may never take that collar off of you."

"Y-You wouldn't dare." Anna panted, her eyes unfocused and staring blankly behind Irene.

"Is that a challenge?" Irene asked, "Think of it. I could have one made for you to seem like a special choker, something you could wear in public. But behind closed doors, the things I'd use it for…"

Irene chuckled darkly and Anna shuddered at the thought; not in fear but at how truly delightful the idea sounded.

"It'd be the ultimate display of submission and no one would be the wiser. You'd still be Anna Heartfilia M.D."

Anna blinked, her senses finally returning to her and she bit her lip as she pictured the idea in her mind's eye. She could almost see it now.

"…M-Maybe." She said, averting her gaze from Irene's when she was forced to look at her.

Irene sighed softly and kissed Anna, a tender brush of their lips. She then undid the knots binding Anna, noting how her joints popped when she stood, and guided the woman to the nearby bed. Irene poured a glass of wine and split it between her and Anna.

The quiet moments between the two of them were when Irene allowed the rare moments of introspection take hold of her. Maybe it was the sexually aroused high she felt or maybe it was the wine, but for whatever reason, her thoughts in these moments always wandered down the same path.

Did she love Anna?

Maybe.

Possibly.

She honestly wasn't sure. She used Anna as a way to indulge in her kinks and fetishes and she knew Anna thought the same of her. But after so much time together, it was hard not to deny that they had entered into a somewhat unconventional relationship. Yes the sex was fun-amazing in many regards-but it had certainly changed into something…more. She wasn't adverse to the idea either; keeping Anna all to herself certainly held a definite appeal.

"What is it?" Anna asked, taking a sip of wine and handing the glass back.

Irene chuckled and accepted, downing the last of the drink. Setting the glass aside, she was surprised when Anna tucked a few strands of loose hair behind her ear.

"It's nothing." She replied.

"Are you sure?" Anna asked, brow furrowed.

Irene smiled and gently caught Anna's wrist before slowly kissing her palm. She then pulled Anna close and delivered a sensual, open mouth kissed that had Anna moaning and melding to her. Irene pushed her errant thoughts aside for later. That was something she could focus on later…all that mattered was the here and now.

"Now…it's your turn." Irene said against Anna's lips as laid on her back, Anna instinctively straddling her. She ran her hand up and down the blonde's spine before giving her rear a squeeze.

The other woman only paused for the slightest of moments to admire Irene's body before she licked her lips and delivered a series of chaste kisses that slowly deepened into something more carnal and erotic. She gave the same treatment to the slender expanse that was Irene's neck; relishing in the sighs and soft moans she produced from the redhead.

Irene sighed in bliss when Anna finally turned her attention to her breasts, giving each of the soft, pliable globes of flesh equal attention with a series of nips, bites, and tweaks. As much as she was enjoying the sensations Irene was never a patient woman when it came to satisfying her needs, and with a frustrated huff, she pushed Anna back enough that she was able to guide the woman between her legs.

Anna was quick to respond and parted Irene's legs, kissing her way along her thighs before finally running her tongue along Irene's weeping slit. Irene let out a deep, guttural moan as her head lolled back against the headboard. She ran her fingers through Anna's hair, holding her in place as the blonde parted and lapped at her folds.

"For such a submissive pet you always know how to please, Anna…" Irene breathed out, earning a hum from Anna that left Irene shivering.

Wanting to repay Irene for her earlier treatment, Anna added her fingers into the mix and soon had Anna grinding and bucking her hips; panting and moaning with reckless abandon. Whether it be tweaking her clit, plunging into her folds, or teasing her second entrance; Anna struck with the precision and skill that had made her the best surgeon in her field. It drove Irene wild and over the edge like nothing else.

Both women could feel the orgasm brewing and it wouldn't be long before Irene fell to pieces, bliss overcoming her.

She was so close.

Almost…

 _Almost…_

Irene's cellphone rang, startling the both of them.

Anna buried her face into the mattress with a groan while Irene glared at the offending device.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Anna grumbled into the bedsheets.

"Impeccable timing." Irene hissed as the two women reluctantly parted, both knowing who was calling. Anna sighed heavily and grabbed the wine bottle, taking two heavy gulps from it, while Irene checked the caller ID. She smiled when she saw Jellal's name and number on the screen.

Putting on a smile to mask the fact that she had been metaphorically blue balled, Irene answered the call with the most pleasant tone she could muster.

"Jellal, darling, I trust that-" Irene had barely gotten the words out of her mouth when she suddenly winced, holding the phone away from her ear. Ultear's panicked voice could clearly be heard from the other end.

"Ultear?" Irene answered, "Ultear, calm down; what's wrong?"

Irene had risen from the bed so that she could pace back and forth across her bedroom.

"Wait, wait, wait; slow down. Could you repeat that?"

"What is it?" Anna asked but Irene held her finger out at her, a look of surprise and simmering anger quickly forming on her features.

"What?" Anna hissed before her countenance contorted violently; eyes wide and lips curled back in a snarl.

" _YOU WHAT!?"_

XXXX

 _ **20 Minutes Earlier…**_

 _ **The home of the late Councilman Crawford Seam…**_

Bullets cracked overhead or riddled the fountain, concrete fragments and dust kicking into the air.

"Fuck!" Erza swore when a bullet struck too close, splashing water onto her and Jellal.

Jellal had curled into himself, groaning in pain and keeping his hands slapped onto the bullet wound in his side. Blood seeped through his fingers and it was getting harder to breathe; the bullets flying overhead weren't helping matters.

The moment he'd gone down, Erza had ditched the now empty P10C and dragged him up against the fountain. She'd taken his FNX from him then, using it to return fire, but having little effect against the guards who were now leaving their cover and preparing to storm the fountain.

"Jellal, we're trapped." Erza hissed, her voice clenched with panic and eyes wide. He didn't blame her fear for surfacing anew.

She'd just escaped potential torture only to face the prospect of being gunned down; if that wasn't the perfect example of irony then Jellal didn't know what was. And it was something he refused to accept.

"Run." Jellal said through gritted teeth, "Run. Get out of here."

"And what, leave you behind?" Erza snapped, blindly firing two shots from Jellal's pistol.

"…Hold them off…not worth it." Jellal hissed, digging into a vest pouch and drawing a fragmentation grenade, "I'll take some of them with me."

"Don't you say that," Erza growled, "don't you fucking dare say that."

"You have a better chance of getting out of here than me!" Jellal countered, "Leave me and run, you're worth more alive than I am! You're too important!"

"And you're too important _to me_!" Erza cried, "You're worth more to me than anything else God damnit!"

"Erza…" Jellal said, stunned.

Even with the bullets flying around them, the world seemed to fade away as Erza raised his mask and cupped his face while forcing him to pocket the grenade. It was just the two of them.

"I am not leaving the man I love to die like a fucking animal." Erza bit out, tears welling up in her eyes.

Jellal's mouth hung agape in shock at the sudden confession and he slowly blinked as Erza's words settled in. He knew something had been brewing between them for a while, but to hear Erza say it was something else entirely.

Before Jellal could answer, however, the sound of an engine revving could be heard over the gunfire. As it grew closer, it drew not only Jellal and Erza's attention but the attention of Seam's guards as well.

"What the hell is that?" One of the guards asked aloud.

Then with a screeching of tires, Erik's van came crashing through the front gates in reverse before coming to an abrupt stop mere feet from Jellal and Erza; the guards gawking in shock.

"What the hell!?"

"Where the fuck did that come from!?"

"Did those two call in back up or something!?"

The back doors to the van were suddenly kicked open and there stood Ultear, the M60 in hand and looking almost as if she had just popped out of one of the Rambo movies.

"Hey assholes!" Ultear shouted, "Suck on this!"

The hacker promptly cut loose with the machine gun, firing it from the hip and hosing down everything and anyone who got in her sights.

"Holy shit!" Erza cried out as she covered Jellal with her body. Beneath her, despite the pain he was in, Jellal let out an annoyed groan.

"God damnit Ultear…"

Within seconds, it was all over. From the front steps to the front windows, Ultear had sparred no one; the guards lay in crumpled heaps, torn apart by the 7.62mm bullets. Without a care, Ultear tossed the smoking machine gun aside and ran over to Jellal and Erza.

"We have to go," She said, "we have to go; now! The cops will be here any minute!"

She and Erza were quick in helping Jellal stand and all but dragged him into the van. The back doors hadn't even closed and Jellal was already trying to remove his armor.

"Punch it!" Ultear snapped at Erik before turning back to Erza, "Where's he hit?"

"On his side." Erza said as she assisted Jellal, "He's bleeding badly."

"Shit." Ultear hissed, retrieving a first aid kit and handing it to Erza, "We need to stop the bleeding and get him help ASAP."

"We're not going to a hospital I can tell you that much." Erik said as the van sped away from Seam's house and out of the gated community.

"And I don't think any of our doctors are going to be willing to help us with both the heat baring down on us and that we botched one of Irene Belserion's jobs. Man, she's going to be pissed when she hears about this."

"We have to do something." Erza pressed as she ripped open Jellal's shirt and forced his hand away from the bleeding wound.

She used an antiseptic wipe to clear the blood away before applying a QuikClot bandage to the wound. She then used an autoinjector to numb the wound through the bandage.

"Thanks." Jellal grunted as Erza helped him sit up against the side of the van.

Jellal the dug into his pocket and retrieved his phone, pulling up Irene's number, and tossing it to Ultear. She looked from the phone, to Jellal, and then back to the phone.

"I'm not making this call." She said.

"And I'm in too much pain to really care." Jellal hissed.

"She's going to skin us alive!" Ultear snapped back.

"You'll be fine. She hired me for this job and I take full responsibility for how fucked it went. She'll skin me alive…you and Erik will be fine."

"You're not reassuring anyone man!" Erik called out from the front.

"Just make the call…" Jellal took a heavy series of breathes, "Don't panic."

Ultear ran her hand through her hair and grimaced, pressing the call button, and waiting for Irene to answer. When she did…Ultear all but blurted out the events of the last fifteen minutes.

"Smooth." Erza grumbled while Jellal sighed heavily.

"Whenever your mother is involved, people tend to be scarred shitless regardless."

"Most people aren't you."

"I could say the same for you too." Jellal smirked, casting a sideways glance at Erza.

Her faced was marred with concern as she removed his mask completely and set it aside, her one hand intertwining with his while the other gently traced his tattoo.

"I know," Ultear said, drawing their attention back to the call, "I know mam, I just…yes…yes, Seam is dead…the guards were alerted and a shootout ensued…the shooting more than likely alerted the whole neighborhood…I might have also shot up the front of the house…and Jellal himself got shot; he's pretty messed up."

Ultear winced sharply as Irene could be heard raising her voice and she undoubtedly would start screaming soon.

"Mam…mam the point still stands that Seam is dead. We got the job done but Jellal is hurt and needs to get help immediately…right…right, I understand mam."

Ultear ended the call and sighed, running her hand down her face; frowning deeply.

"She's pissed."

"I heard." Jellal quipped, "Sitrep?"

"As much as she'd want to leave you to die, she wants to speak with you; she wants to hear it straight from the horse's mouth as to how you and Erza fucked this up."

"I figured as much."

"With that being said, you're in luck. She happened to be with Anna Heartfilia and will have her patch you up."

"That's pretty convenient." Erik called back, "You know something we don't Jellal?"

"What stays behind closed doors, stays behind closed doors." Jellal replied, "It's not my place to say. Either way, I'm not complaining."

The van was quiet for a minute before the group let out a collective sigh.

"…This is going to suck." Jellal groaned.

XXXX

 _ **Later…**_

 _ **Tower of Heaven; Erza Scarlet's apartment…**_

"…And that should do it." Anna said as she finished stitching up the bullet wounds.

After arriving to Tower of Heaven, Irene had her guards usher the group up to Erza's apartment where she and Anna were waiting. Despite looking like wrath personified, Irene had begrudgingly let Anna tend to Jellal while Erik, Ultear, and Erza had explained how things had gone so wrong so fast…with the occasional interjection from Jellal, who lay shirtless on his side on the sofa as Anna tended to him.

Irene had been less than pleased and had spent the majority of their chat massaging her temples out of frustration. When all was said and done, she dismissed Erik and Ultear-assuring them that they would be paid in full-and then proceeded to call Magnolia's chief of police. Jellal watched as Irene paced on the outside balcony, occasionally casting an irritated glance his way through the glass. The wind had picked up outside, making Irene's hair flutter like the angered tempest she was.

Erza waited nearby in the kitchen, leaning against the center island and nursing her second glass of whiskey. She had changed out of her ruined evening dress and traded it for a satin robe. Jellal found his gaze switching from Irene to eyeing Erza's long and slender legs. He couldn't help himself; it took his mind off of things.

"You're lucky the bullet made a clean entry and exit. Otherwise you'd have significantly more internal damage, especially to your ribs."

She applied an ointment to the stitches before placing two adhesive bandages to the entry and exit wounds.

"Don't put too much stress on your injuries, no serious physical activity, and change the bandages if there's an excess amount of blood. Call me if you think there is anything wrong or you start feeling ill."

"Thank you Doctor Heartfilia." He said, wincing slightly as she helped him sit up.

"I owe you."

"Damn right you do." Anna said as rummaged through her doctor's bag, "Your little mistake interrupted a good evening. Neither Irene nor I like being blue balled you know."

"…Sorry." He said lamely.

Anna sighed and produced a small bottle of painkillers along with some fresh bandages.

"These are extra strength so take them every couple of hours; two are recommended, three if you're desperate." She said as Jellal took two of the pain pills and swallowed them dry.

The door to the balcony opened and Irene sauntered back in, turning her phone over and over in her hand, a neutral expression on her face. Erza had set her glass down and had come to stand nearby, keeping an eye on both her mother and Jellal.

"How is our dear Leben Geist?" Irene asked in mock concern.

"He was lucky. It was a clean hit; the bullet passed through and through. He's all patched up now and should be fine within the coming week or two." Anna said as she stood and shouldered her bag, doing her best to adjust her dress so as to hide the bite and red marks still present on her neck and collarbone.

"Good, good," Irene said, stopping before Jellal and glancing at him sideways.

"Our dear chief of police has informed me that, ordinarily, he wouldn't turn a blind eye to such a 'violent and brazen crime.' That it would be hard to explain to the general public how such a prominent city councilman and his guards were shot to pieces in his own home and how the killer-or killers-are still at large."

She faced him fully now and leaned in, eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I gave you one job; one job. For you, an assassin with such a reputation such as yours, I would've expected this to have been a cake walk. But apparently that was asking too much now wasn't it?"

Jellal closed his eyes, inhaled and exhaled calmly, and then met Irene's gaze.

"There was no way we could've known about the pace maker…nor that it was programmed to alert his guards. It was something out of our control."

"And as you very well know, I do not like _not being in control!_ " Irene hissed, suddenly drawing an old Luger P08 from the waistband of her pants and jamming the muzzle beneath his jaw. Lightning flashed outside and there was a crack of thunder. The steady pitter patter of rain followed shortly after.

Erza and Anna tensed but Jellal didn't even flinch. He simply blinked, looking down at the Luger and then Irene.

"Not only did you and Miss Milkovich singlehandedly slaughter his entire retinue of guards and draw unnecessary attention to this whole debacle, you have also put my plans in jeopardy. Plans that I have spent a very long time ensuring go off without a hitch. Your most grievous offense however, is that you nearly cost my daughter her life. She was nearly butchered and discarded like a lamb at the slaughter. I know I explicitly told you to not let any harm come to Erza, so you have no idea how close I am to shooting you just for that alone."

For several tense heartbeats, neither Anna nor Erza dared to move-let alone breathe-as the Leben Geist and Tante of Crime stared one another down. Irene's finger rested on the trigger of the Luger, the gun just a hairsbreadth away from firing and splattering the wall with the insides of Jellal's head.

Finally, it was Jellal who broke the silence.

"You said that 'ordinarily' the chief wouldn't look away from something as big as this. What do you mean by that?"

Irene blinked before smirking, "Caught that didn't you?"

She pulled the gun away and thumbed the safety, tucking the gun back away.

"Luckily for us all, the chief is a man of many vices and has become a good acquaintance of mine due to him frequenting Domus Rosis over the years. Because of this relationship we share, it was easy to convince the chief to look the other way on this one. He'll ensure that any evidence and video surveillance footage that could connect you, my daughter, and myself to Seam's death is 'misplaced.' From there, he'll either ensure that the case goes nowhere or that they can pin it on gang violence or some shit like that. Either way, as far as we're all concerned; the coast is clear."

"Glad to know." Jellal said as Anna and Erza visibly relaxed.

"What happens now?" Erza asked.

"For now, the two of you take it easy tonight. I'll call you if anything changes or if I need you two for anything else." Irene replied.

"To be fair Jellal you did deliver as promised. Seam is dead, the women he tortured are avenged, you brought my daughter home to me in one piece…and you've ensured that my plans continue on. In lieu of this mess you've created, I think the long term results will vindicate you."

"Always happy to help." Jellal said flatly, rolling his eyes as he did so. Oh yeah, the painkillers were really starting to kick in now.

"Oh don't be like that," Irene said sweetly, "sarcasm is unbecoming of you. Besides, I have a gift for you to express my gratitude for all that you've done."

"Which is?"

Irene smirked-sending a quick but pointed look at Erza-and before Jellal could react, she leaned in and sealed her mouth over his. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to protest out of reflex. Irene simply used that as an opportunity to deepen the kiss, bringing her tongue into the mix and giving a pleased hum.

While a sultry smile formed on Anna's lips, Erza's drew into a thin line while her eyes narrowed-glaring daggers at her mother-while her arms crossed and body tensed.

She wasn't blind to the fact that Irene was kissing Jellal as a way to get under her skin. Hell, her mother had taken him to bed on more than one occasion as a means to "thank" him for all of the hard work he had done in her service.

But it wasn't like he had any say in the matter…nor did it hurt any less as her blood simmered in a mix of anger and jealousy.

 _Jellal was hers._

Despite the games they played, Erza had known for a while that Jellal had become more than an acquaintance and partner to her; someone who was no longer just a fun romp in the sheets or a shoulder to cry on.

She was possessive of what was hers…much like her mother was.

After a minute, Irene parted from Jellal and gave her lips a seductive lick; swiping away the string of saliva that had been connecting them. Jellal blinked once, twice, and then three times before averting his gaze from Irene.

"Well, now that all is said and done," Irene took on a chipper tone, "I think we're done here. Come Anna, let's go back and finish where we left off."

"Of course," She smiled, "remember what I said about those stitches; I don't want to hear that you were careless and bled out."

Jellal nodded simply but continued to look away from the two women. As Irene passed Erza, she found herself stopped when her daughter tightly caught her shoulder. Erza glared at her mother while Irene smirked cruelly.

"I don't know what hold you think you have over him but let me make one thing clear…" Erza kept her voice hushed and tone clipped.

"Jellal is mine. And I'd appreciate it if for once in your life… _if you backed the fuck off_."

Irene gave a low chuckle and leaned in close to Erza, "Oh my dear daughter, you still have so much to learn. You can lay claim to Jellal all you want but the more he works for me, the further he indebts himself to me. He may think he's a free agent same as how you think he's yours. But at the end of the day; _he's mine_. Mine to use however I see fit, mine to call upon whenever I need to, and mine to get rid of when I no longer have use for him. And you'd do well to remember that _Erza_."

Erza growled lowly at her mother, lips peeling back in the slightest of snarls, even as Irene kissed her forehead.

"Good night Erza, I'm glad you're safe. Good night Jellal, it's always a pleasure doing business with you." Irene said as she sashayed out of the door, Anna close behind.

"Tante." He grunted.

The door closed and then the two women were gone, leaving Jellal and Erza alone to the sound of the storm outside. The air between them was filled with a pregnant silence that left the both of them awkwardly rubbing their arms. Erza returned to the kitchen and retrieved the whiskey bottle, taking a drink from it before coming back to Jellal. She sat next to him, handing him the bottle to which he gratefully accepted it. He took a long drink before letting out a heavy sigh and leaning forward, running his hand through his hair.

"Well…that happened."

"Just something else to add to an otherwise hellish night." Erza sighed as she leaned back into the couch.

"Sorry about that."

"What? Me getting captured or my mother?"

"Both."

Erza gave a humorless chuckle, "There was nothing you could've done about me. There was no way we could've known things would get out of hand as they did. And as for my mother…she's just a bitch."

It was Jellal's turn to chuckle this time, "Don't let her hear you say that."

"Let her be pissed; I've been sick of her treating us like toys for a while now." Erza pinched her brows, taking the whiskey from Jellal when offered.

She took a generous drink, enjoying the burn that filled her throat and chest.

"Trouble in paradise?" Jellal asked.

"She's just a control freak. She likes the power; she likes dominating; she likes keeping others under her thumb. I'm fine with inheriting The Rose and her position and title when the time comes…but until then, you and I are in the same boat. Except she demands extra care be taken whenever she decides to let me get involved."

Jellal eyed her clinically for a minute before leaning back and nudging her with his elbow.

"What brought this on all the sudden?" He asked, "Was it because your mother frenched me or is there something else you'd like to tell me?"

Erza was silent for a few heartbeats before she sighed heavily and grabbed his shoulder pushing him forward so that he was leaning again.

"Uhm...?"

"Your back." She said, "I want to see it."

Jellal smirked and complied, leaning forward and letting Erza move behind him, her legs wrapping around his waist.

No matter how many times she saw Jellal's back, she was always left in awe by the sharp contrast between the scars that crossed his back and the work of art that decorated it. Though to be fair, calling the tattoo "art" was a bit of a stretch considering how unsettlingly morbid it actually was.

It was of the Grimm Reaper; Death himself grinning back at her. In one hand, the Reaper held a lantern. In the other, his trusted scythe. Written above the Reaper in an intricate gothic script was the name that followed Jellal wherever he went: _Leben Geist_ … "Living Ghost." Below the tattoo, scrawled in a similar script on the small of his back was the classic Latin motto: _Nemo me impune lacessit…_ "No on attacks me with impunity."

Erza traced the tattoo with a weird fascination. It had captivated her ever since she first saw it but as to why it did, she really couldn't say. Was it because the tattoo represented the life Jellal led and role he played? Was it the haunting reminder that Death was always watching? Did it have to do with the fact that the tattoo and the accompanying scripts practically begged people to attack Jellal?

Erza could never come up with a real answer. Maybe all it was the fact that she was twisted and she was drawn to twisted things.

She took her time tracing the skull before slowly letting her fingers moved to the script and scythe; letting Jellal revel in her touch all the while. He let out a relaxed hum that only deepened when Erza pressed her lips to the spot between his shoulder blades.

"…Feels nice." He humbled.

Erza gave a hum in response and leaned into him, her arms and legs wrapping around him. Her eyes however never left the ever vexing words that always followed her thoughts whenever she was with Jellal.

Leben Geist.

Leben Geist.

 _Leben Geist._

Erza sighed heavily and disentangled herself from Jellal, moving to sit next to him and make him face her.

"What's wrong?" He asked, brow furrowing slightly.

Erza licked her lips and inhaled slowly. It may not have been the right time or the right circumstances, but if she was going to be clear with Jellal on how she felt about him…it was only fair that he do that same for her.

"Why are you called the Leben Geist?"

Jellal blinked and his lips drew into a line. He didn't answer her, only holding her gaze.

"How long before we stop keeping secrets from one another?" She continued, undeterred.

"You know almost everything about me…my likes...my dislikes…my kinks…my fears…and yet I know so little about you. Whenever I ask people about you, they never give me a straight answer or swallow whatever they're about to say and tell me to ask you. And when I do ask…you either don't say anything or change the subject. It's getting old and I'm tired of not knowing."

He frowned, looking ashamed in a way, and averted his eyes from her. She cupped his cheeks and ran her thumbs across them, making him look at her again.

"I meant what I said when I told you that you're too important to me. Everything that's happened tonight has made me realize that. But if I'm going to be honest with you, you have to be honest with me…that's all that I want and all that I ask. Tell me the truth. Let me in…please."

Jellal's eyes were filled with conflict, visibly torn about wanting to tell Erza what she wanted to know and keeping his guard up. He sighed heavily and stood, leaving Erza on the couch as she watched him take another drink from the bottle and silently walk to the window. The rain was pouring down now with the occasional flash of lightning illuminating the city outside and casting long shadows across the apartment.

"Makarov and Laxus asked me that same question one night over a game of poker. I was hammered and foolish enough to give an honest answer." Jellal said, taking another drink.

Erza starred at him for a few heartbeats before her lips turned down in a scowl. She scoffed, standing as she did so, and turned her back to him as she made her way to her bedroom. She felt her eyes burn and pressed the heels of her palms to them to stifle the brimming tears.

"I was seven years old when Enca and Sin went to war."

Erza froze mid step as Jellal's voice filled the living room. She double blinked before slowly turning around to face him. He was still starring out the window but with a distant, faraway look in his eyes. Knowing that it wasn't the pain meds or the alcohol talking, her interest was piqued. She was vaguely aware of the war he was talking about but then again, international affairs never held her interest.

"Being relatively small countries, they don't have much in terms of standing armies." Jellal continued.

"But…what Sin lacks in manpower they make up for it in firepower. After about a year into the fighting, Enca found itself losing more men than it could save or replace. Things were getting desperate for the army…not that I knew anything about that, because like I said; I was seven at the time."

Erza made her way to Jellal's side, a concerned expression on her face. Jellal glanced at her sideways and she put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Go on…" She encouraged softly. Jellal took another drink of whiskey; the bottle was half empty at this point.

"I lived in a quiet little town in the central highlands with my mother and father. My father and mother ran a bakery and were good, hard working people. I loved them. And they loved me. Then one day an army convoy came to town to round up all the able bodied men and women; the army was desperate for new troops. But so many from our town had already gone off to fight. When the town elders explained this to the soldiers…they began rounding up children. Boys and girls who were six, seven, eight, thirteen, sixteen…it didn't matter."

Erza felt a cold pit form in her heart and slowly began to shake her head. What Jellal was implying was both as shocking as it was horrifying.

"It's true." Jellal replied, as if sensing her thoughts; his voice taking on the slightest hint of a bitter anger.

"Enca violated international law and began using child soldiers in the fight against Sin. I remember watching as mothers screamed when their children were torn away from them and forced into transport trucks. Fathers cursing and raging only to have guns shoved in their faces or to be knocked back with rifle butts. When they came for me, my parents begged and pleaded for me to be sparred…I had a death grip on my mother while my father tried to pull me back…and then my father punched the soldier that was grabbing me and…"

Jellal paused as lightning flashed once more outside. Only instead of a crack of thunder he heard the sharp bark of a rifle.

"…And my parents were gunned down in front of me. The soldier, enraged that my father had broken his nose, emptied his rifles magazine into both my parents; killing them in cold blood. I can still remember how hot my parents blood felt as it sprayed across my face…how they convulsed and spasmed with each bullet."

Jellal felt something wet running down his cheeks. Wiping his hand back, he found that he was crying…it had been a long time since he'd done that. Erza turned his head so that he was facing her and gently cupped his face with both hands, wiping away the tears with her thumbs. Jellal took a shuddering breath and licked his lips, focusing on Erza's touch.

"I screamed, I kicked, I cried…but it didn't matter. I was tossed into the truck with the others and taken away from my home. It was the last time I ever saw it; the last time I ever saw my parents. From there I was taken with the other children to a camp and tossed in with those that had been taken from other towns and villages. We were immediately forced into training. I learned real quick to do what the soldiers told me to do…those who refused or complained were simply shot and fed to the guard dogs."

Erza swallowed hard and felt the bile rise in her throat. Jellal continued, too lost in his memories to notice Erza's disgust.

"Whether it be stealing from other kids or the adults just to have something to eat; enduring the beatings I got if I was caught; or dodging bullets in live fire drills as people died if they weren't careful, each day was a fight for survival. Ironically that's how I met Erik. He was another kid who tried to steal my boot laces and I knocked out two of his teeth. He knocked out two of mine. We got along swimmingly after that."

Jellal smirked at the memory and shook his head.

"He was my partner in crime from that day forward. Not long after that we were sent to the frontlines. I was given this beat up, old rifle, some ammo, and told to charge the enemy. No strategy or tactics; we were told to overwhelm the enemy through sheer numbers. That the enemy wouldn't shoot children. I guess you can imagine how that went?

My first day in combat I got halfway across a field only to be shot in the shoulder and forced to hide in a blast crater. I watched as men, women, and the other kids like me get cut down by bullets or turned into red mist by artillery. I stayed in that crater all day and barely managed to crawl my way back. To my relief Erik had survived and my superiors hailed my return as a miracle. Why? Because more than half of the kids I had been rounded up with were dead.

From then on it was rinse and repeat. We'd get sent into a fight and it didn't matter if we'd win or lose; I'd receive wounds that should've killed me. And yet I managed to hang on…somehow. My superiors loved how I seemingly kept coming back from the dead, covered in blood and white as a sheet, and even managing to kill a few of the enemy after scaring the hell out of them. Hence the name…"

"Leben Geist." Erza finished for him.

"'Leben Geist. Leben Geist. Haunt them, hunt them, and kill them.' It was something my handlers chanted like a mantra into my head whenever they wanted me to go on a suicide run. I guess they figured it'd get me pumped for a fight but in actuality; it got fucking annoying real quick."

Erza couldn't stop herself from snorting in amusement, earning a smirk from Jellal.

"But it's something that comes back to me whenever I go on a job. My personal ghost that reminds me of who I am and what I'm good at."

Jellal sighed heavily and shook his head. Erza gently ran her fingers through his hair, making him turn into her touch while her other hand found his, interlacing their fingers together.

"How long were you a child soldier? How long were you and Erik forced to endure that?" She asked.

"Until I was thirteen." Jellal said, "For six long years, the war dragged on. For six long years Erik and I were able to cling to life. We survived every fight we were sent into, every beating we received from our handlers, every day and every night. And the world just fucking watched, said 'that's terrible' and turned a blind eye to the fighting. No one cared about Enca and Sin. Why should they? They're two small countries on the other side of the world; out of sight and out of mind.

But eventually, a couple of aid groups began raising a fuss about human rights violations, the brutality of the fighting, the violation of international law, and how world governments weren't doing shit. Wanting so save face, Fiore and a few other nations got together to form a peacekeeping task force and sent in foreign troops to get a handle on things. When Erik and I heard about this, we knew we had a chance to finally break free. Where we were, we were just a few dozen miles away from the nearest peacekeeper base; we figured that the peacekeepers or some aid workers would take pity on two child soldiers and get us out of Enca.

So one day under the cover of night, Erik and I stole as much that we could from the supply depot, loaded up our packs, killed our handlers while they slept, and snuck out of our camp. For about a week we were able to evade the troops that had been sent to recapture us but through sheer blind luck, they never caught on. Once in the clear, we began our walk to freedom. We didn't know we'd pick up another traveler though."

"…Kinana." Erza said, remembering that she and Erik had practically been joined at the hip with one another for as long as she'd known them.

Kinana didn't talk much about her past-much like Jellal and Erik-but from what she did reveal, Erza knew that Kinana had lost her family when she was young and that Erik had protected her ever since.

"Yeah, Kinana." Jellal affirmed, "Erik and I were passing through a village that had been torn a new one by the fighting sometime before we got there. While looking to restock our supplies, we stumbled upon this shy, grime covered girl who was about our age. She was shell shocked, covered in dirt and blood, and looked like she hadn't eaten in a few days. Erik took an instant liking to her-and she to him, surprisingly-and shared some of his food with her then helped clean her up. All we got from Kinana was that she and her family had been in hiding when the fighting started, there was an explosion, and then her parents were gone. She'd been on her own since then.

We let Kinana tag along with us and a few days later, we ran into a peacekeeper patrol from Fiore. They took us to an aid camp and the aid workers were able to get us political asylum in Fiore. We arrived to Fiore a few months later but they tried to separate us. Erik and Kinana weren't having any of that and I had been through too much with Erik…so we did what we did best. We ran away and survived one day at a time."

"You lived on the streets?" Erza asked.

"Yep." Jellal smirked, "Why do you think I'm so street savvy?"

Erza rolled her eyes and flicked his forehead, making him laugh softly.

"But yes Erza, the three of us lived on the streets for about a year, committing petty crime and honing our street smarts. Then things changed for us when we made the mistake of trying to jump one Laxus Dreyar. He kicked our asses but we'd made an impression on him and he introduced us to one Master Makarov Dreyar. He took us under his wing, trained us to use our potential, and got us to where we are now."

Jellal sighed and finished the last of the whiskey, setting the empty bottle down on the table.

"So that's my story." He gave a half-hearted shrug, "I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

Erza studied him for a few heartbeats, frowning slightly.

"Why are you so hesitant to tell people about this? It's horrible what happened to you but…"

"But it's something I don't like to think about." Jellal said, cutting her off, "I lost my family and my childhood…I saw things no one should ever have to see…things that haunt me to this day and remind me that I'm not a normal person. That I'm not some normal assassin. I was trained to kill a man seven ways to Sunday and do so without losing any sleep. I know how to field strip an assault rifle and put it back together-blindfolded-in under thirty seconds. I know what it's like to have a voice in my head remind me that I'm a killing machine and some part of me, deep down, has been conditioned to enjoy what I do."

Jellal pinched his brow and rolled his neck, the muscle in his jaw visibly twitching slightly. He froze however when Erza leaned up and pressed her lips to his. Jellal was quick to return the kiss, his arms slowly wrapping around her waist and pulling her close. The warmth of her body was quick to lull him out of his anxiety.

When they parted, Erza rested her forehead against his, "I may never truly know or be able to understand what you went through Jellal…but if there's one thing I know, it's that you're not a killing machine."

"Erza…"

"A killing machine does not go out of his way to avenge one of his friends who has been raped and beater. A killing machine does babysit young children while their parents go out to carry out a kill order on a date night. A killing machine does not risk his life to save his partner when she's been captured by a serial killing councilman. You may be the Leben Geist, Jellal. But you are more than that name; so much more."

Jellal blinked in shock at how passionate Erza's words had been, stunning him into silence. His mouth opened and close, unable to form a response.

"You need to see yourself as more than just some cold hearted killer. You have a troubled soul, but you're a man with a troubled soul who has shown that he is so much more than the ghosts of his past. I want you to see this man. I want you to see this man whom I've fallen in love with. Let the past go. Focus on the here and now. Focus on the future. Don't let that Leben Geist continue to haunt you."

Lightning flashed once more and thunder cracked, as if summoned by the passion Erza was pouring forth. He'd never seen her this animated before; he'd never seen her this earnest and open. It was surprising…amazing even.

But then again, when hadn't she amazed him? From their first meeting to this very moment, Erza never ceased to surprise. Jellal let out a soft laugh before chuckling softly.

"What?" Erza asked.

"Earlier, when we were hiding behind the fountain, when you told me how you felt…it's funny you said that." Jellal said.

"How so?"

"If you hadn't interrupted me…I was going to say something similar. Cliché, I know, but…you're important to me too…Erza."

Erza's cheeks warmed with color and the smallest of hesitant smiles formed on her lips.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Oh…"

Jellal gave a hearty laugh when Erza's cheeks further warmed with color and she averted her eyes in a bashful manner. She was like a schoolgirl confessing to her crush, Jellal thought amusedly.

"Oh quiet you." Erza hissed with a smirk and silenced him with a kiss. She took her time to move her arms from his shoulders to wrapping around his neck and gently tugging at his hair. Jellal did the same, loving how even after the hellish night they'd had, Erza's hair was still heavenly soft to the tough.

They parted once again with the barest of space between them.

"So…" Erza licked her lips, "Where do we go from here?"

"I don't know." Jellal shrugged, "How do you want this to go?"

Erza gave a gentle hum as she raised her hand to trace the tattoo over Jellal's eye.

"I'm not sure myself to be honest," Erza said before her smile turned coy, "But…I can think of a few things."

Jellal arched a brow, his lip tugging up at the corner, "Oh really? What do you have in mind?"

Erza leaned in so that she could whisper into his ear, "Many things. And they all involve you, me, and winging it as we go along."

Erza felt Jellal smirk against her neck as he placed a kiss on her pulse, "I think I like the sound of that. But I also think I'll need more proof as to how serious you are."

Erza shivered when Jellal then pressed his lips to the corner of her jaw. She made him look at her once more, both of their eyes half lidded and barely restrained with smoldering hunger.

"Then let me _show_ rather than tell you." Erza said and without preamble, mashed their lips together once more.

Jellal groaned into the kiss and pulled Erza flush against him, loving how her fingers curled into his shoulder and hair. His own hands moved to between her shoulder blades and to squeeze her rear, making Erza gasp and allowing Jellal to deepen the kiss. Erza groaned and Jellal felt it reverberate through him all the way into his bones and he couldn't help but smirk against Erza's lips.

They parted reluctantly to catch their breath, both sporting a subdued wild gleam in their eyes. Erza tossed her hair over her shoulder, took Jellal by the hand, and he followed her without question when she led him further into her apartment. Flashes of lightning illuminated the way as Erza guided Jellal to her dimly lit bedroom and neither said a word; they didn't have to. They knew where things were heading and neither wanted to spoil the moment.

Erza led him to the large queen sized bed-with crimson and white bedsheets-and pushed him back onto the downy comforter. Jellal grunted with a smirk and Erza tittered lightly but frowned when Jellal winced and clutched his side where his wound was. He tried to prop himself up on his forearms but Erza stopped him, hand splayed against his chest as she pressed him back down. She shook her head at Jellal's furrowed brow. She kissed him, assuaging his concern, and whispered against his lips:

"Remember what the good doctor said? Let me handle this."

Jellal smirked and let Erza prop him up against her pillows before she returned to the foot of the bed. Then, slowly, she undid the knot of her robe and let the garment slip away from her shoulders; inch by tantalizing inch. The soft lighting of the room made Erza's skin radiate a warm glow, emphasizing the contrast between taught muscle and soft curves. The robe finally fell to the floor and pooled at her feet, revealing the black lace thong that left little to the imagination. Seeing as how she had Jellal's undivided attention-feeling a thrill as she watched his eyes reverently drink her in-Erza slowly spun around and let Jellal see all of her, ending with a slight pose; hand on hip and a cocky smirk on her lips.

"See something you like handsome?" Erza purred as she tossed her hair once more.

Jellal gave an amused chuckle, "Show not tell remember?"

"Smartass." Erza smiled, showing her teeth as she settled on all fours atop the bed. She took her time, seeming cat-like as she crawled up to him, and loving the way his gaze never left her every step of the way.

She straddled him and then settled her weight atop of him, languidly grinding their hips together as she did. Jellal's head lolled back as he gave a deep groan that rumbled deeply in his chest and Erza hummed with a pleased smirk. She kissed and nipped her way up his neck before kissing him deeply. His hands, which had been gripping her hips, now cupped her squeezed and kneaded her ass; pulling her flush against him as he began to lightly buck against her.

Her gasped when she felt a distinct hardness poke against her and her lips pulled up into a devious smirk.

"Enjoying…yourself?" Erza panted lightly as Jellal's mouth found the hollow of her throat.

Jellal simply grunted, and with one hand still cupping her rear, the other moved to her breast. Her hardened nipple was no match for the rough and calloused skin of his fingers and palm.

"Enjoying yourself?" Jellal smirked against her throat.

Erza's response was swallowed by another gasp when Jellal began to tweak and pluck the hardened peak and Erza decided then and there that enough was enough. Pushing his hand aside, Erza sat up and raked her fingers down Jellal's hardened pectorals and abdomen; stopping when they reached the zipper of his pants. Her eyes were drawn to the edge of his bandage and she frowned slightly.

"…Are you alright?" She asked.

Jellal rolled his eyes and smirked, "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Are you going to take my drawers off or what?" Jellal quipped.

Now it was Erza's turn to roll her eyes but she was quick to comply nonetheless. She tossed his pants and underwear aside and did the same for her panties; the two of them now completely bare of any barriers between them.

"You're beautiful…" Jellal whispered.

"Damn straight." Erza smirked and settled between his legs, giving a sultry hum when she gripped him. Jellal let out a shaking breath and threaded his fingers through her hair.

"But I can do more than just be a pretty face."

And with that, she took him into her mouth while her hands began to languidly pump and massage that which her mouth couldn't. Jellal's breathing became deep but uneven, occasionally punctuated by a groan or grunt, and Erza smirked against him; loving the hold she had over him. The big, bad, brooding assassin was nothing but putty in her hands in that moment and that thrilled her to no end. She moved her hand down her body to the junction of her legs and her fingers quickly became slick to the touch. Soon enough, Erza's fingers were producing a series of rather wet and lewd sounds as she pleasured herself while doing the same for Jellal. Her own pleased moans reverberated through Jellal, making him shudder as he forced Erza's head away.

"Up…" He rasped, "Climb up."

Erza paused for a moment, confused, but soon caught on to what Jellal was telling her and she did as commanded.

Jellal laid further back as Erza settled over him, his hands gripping and further parting her thighs, while hers own hands gripped the headboard. He took h time, using tongue and teeth to elicit deep moans from Erza as he focused on her slit and clit. It was only when Erza began to squirm that he added his fingers into the mix; one set plunging into her while the other teased her second entrance. Erza gasped sharply, while deep and sensual moan escaped her lips; head lolling back as he her grip became white knuckled on the headboard.

It took some time-some patience-but Jellal couldn't stop himself from smirking when Erza came apart above him. She didn't scream or moan like some of the women he'd been with; for Erza, her climaxes were a quiet affair with her eyes squeezing shut and teeth gnashing together.

Letting go of the breath she'd been holding, Erza fell onto her side; gently panting and satiated. Jellal licked his lips and smiled softly, taking a few strands of her hair between his fingers and kissing them. Erza's hand lightly traced a few of his old battle scars as she took the time to further commit each of them to memory, more so than she had in the past. They lay in silence for a while before Erza decided to move and settled atop of Jellal once more.

"…Ready?" She asked after quick kiss, lightly stroking him and guiding him to her entrance.

He reached up and caressed her cheek in response, telling her all she needed to know.

Erza nodded, lowered her hips and guided him in; her wet heat engulfing him. The two groaned when their hips met and their hands were quick to intertwine. Erza took her time as she began to move, steadily building a rhythm that Jellal did his best to match as the two lovers became lost in one another. The bedroom soon became filled with the sound of flesh slapping against flesh; labored breathing; and the telltale grunts and moans of pleasure.

Then, suddenly, Jellal pulled Erza down and rolled her over onto her back. Erza gasped in surprise, both at the sudden move and the barely registered thought of Jellal's stiches.

"J-Jellal…your…your stiches!"

Jellal didn't answer; he simply sealed his lips over hers.

Any further thought was pushed out of her mind as Jellal continued to thrust deeply into her, her legs wrapping around his waist, and nails drawing blood as they raked across his shoulder blades. The rhythm they'd built before became erratic and rough, with both Erza and Jellal wanting to give the other as much pleasure as possible before they inevitably reached their peaks.

When they finally came, Erza bit down onto Jellal's shoulder while Jellal let out a silent gasp. For several long minutes, the two held one another as they caught their breath and slowly kissed, savoring the afterglow of their lovemaking.

"I needed that." Erza said against his lips.

"I think we both did." Jellal smirked and rolled onto his side.

Erza pulled the covers over the two of them and settled in close to Jellal, whose eyes were slowly beginning to close. Erza wasn't far behind.

"Erza," Jellal mumbled, "thanks."

"For what?" She mumbled back, smiling slightly.

"For being you."

Erza chuckled and kissed him, something that Jellal returned, and it wasn't long after that they drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

XXXX

 _ **Morning…**_

He awoke slowly to the sound of rain gently pattering against the bedroom windows. As he became aware of his surroundings-a very comfortable bed, silk sheets, the scent of lilac-he heard a voice softly humming and along with the sizzling of bacon.

He recognized the voice; it was Erza's.

Then the events of the previous night played out in his mind's eye and he gave a content sigh as he crawled out of bed. A quick glance at the bedside clock-revealing that it was quarter to eleven-earned him a brief lance of pain up his side. He winced, but simply bit his lip as he forced himself to stand. He caught himself in the nearby mirror and saw that the bandage was only slightly bloody, to which he smirked. Anna's stitching, as it appeared, was top notch and strong enough to weather some rather rough lovemaking. It wound have to be changed and cleaned later but that could wait. The scents drifting from the kitchen were reminding him of how hungry he was.

He found his pants and put them on, making his way back to the kitchen where he found Erza at the stove making breakfast. She had thrown on a pair of red lace panties and a black bandeau; her hair tied into a messy knot. She paused before looking over her shoulder and smiling.

"Good morning."

"Morning." He smiled back, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her.

"Smells good." He mumbled into her neck, making her giggle slightly.

"Bacon and scrambled eggs," Erza said, "and I have coffee in the pot; help yourself."

Jellal hummed slightly and pressed a kiss to her pulse, "A man could get used to this."

"Don't get too comfortable. I'm not going to do this every time you get shot."

"Damn it, you've foiled my plans." Jellal chuckled. Erza finished her cooking, turned off the stove, and turned around in his arms so she could flick his forehead.

"C'mon, breakfast is ready."

Jellal kissed her and let her go and the two proceeded to eat in relative silence, enjoying the others company. Erza had turned on the TV and the news was going wild over "the sudden and violent death of Councilman Crawford Seam" and the shocking reveal of the torture chamber he'd kept hidden in his basement. The police had no leads but they were promising to follow the evidence wherever it led and hoped to make an arrest within the coming weeks.

If Eileen was being true to her word then the case would be dead in the water in no time.

"Don't worry." Erza said as she took a bite of her eggs, "If my mother says we're in the clear then we're in the clear."

"Considering how she wanted to castrate me last night, forgive me I still find that hard to believe." Jellal said, drinking his coffee.

"If you're expecting her to send you to the firing squad, relax…she only reserves that for people she especially hates."

"And that's supposed to ease my concern?"

"Yes, actually." Erza smirked, "I have no doubt she disdains you at the moment, but hate you? No. You'd have to piss her off something fierce for that to happen."

"I'd hate to imagine what it'd take for that to happen."

"You don't." Erza said, "Trust me."

Erza glanced at the TV and shuddered slightly when images of the torture chamber were being shown on the screen. Jellal grabbed the remote and switched it off, giving Erza a meaningful look.

"You alright?" Jellal set his hand atop Erza's.

"…I will be, yeah." Erza said, moving her hand so his intertwined with hers.

Erza sighed softly and ran her thumb over Jellal's knuckles, "About last night…"

"Something wrong?" He asked, brow furrowing and a guarded look coming to his eyes.

"No…no, everything's fine. Last night was…it was great. Well, I mean save getting shot and all that but…but you know what I mean."

Jellal laughed a hearty laugh at Erza's flushed appearance and stammered response. Erza sighed and gave a laugh herself.

"No, last night was great. It's just, about what I said-about us-I was serious about that…and I really want to know where things go from here."

"You're okay with mixing things up between us?" Jellal asked.

"Sometimes that can be a good thing." Erza smiled softly, hopefully.

Jellal rubbed the back of his neck, "I suppose, but I don't have much experience when it comes to actual relationships."

"Neither do I," Erza said, "but then again, I suppose that's half the fun of it; making it up as we go along."

"You call what we do fun?" Jellal smirked.

"It has its moments." Erza shrugged with a light toss of her hair.

Jellal was quiet for a moment before squeezing her hand, "Alright."

"Alright?" Erza asked, lips curling into a soft-almost hopeful-smile.

"Let's give it a try and see where this goes." Jellal said.

Erza sighed in relief and leaned in to kiss Jellal…only for the ringing of her phone to stop her. Erza checked the caller ID and muttered something unpleasant under her breath.

"It's my mother."

Jellal rolled his eyes and shook his head. Erza answered and after explaining strained pleasantries with her Irene, put her phone on speaker.

"Jellal, darling, are you still alive?" Irene asked pleasantly, her tone sickly sweet.

"Fortunately, yes." Jellal said dryly, "I have to commend Doctor Heartfilia for her stitching, it held out through the night."

"I'll be sure to pass that on to her." Irene replied, "But don't expect this to be a common courtesy from me; I only allowed Anna to fix you because you're a special case."

"So nice to know you hold me in such esteem." Jellal bit out to which Irene chuckled darkly.

"What are you calling now for?" Erza asked, unable to mask her ire.

"Oh don't sound so snarky my dear daughter, I call bearing good news for the two of you. A chance to redeem yourselves after last night's transgressions."

"And that is?" Jellal asked.

"I received a call earlier this morning, a tip if you will, that Julian York and those two whores he always seems to have on his shoulders, are up to no good and have been abusing the leniency I granted him after the previous stunt he pulled. But, worst of all, they had the gall to think that they'd be able to do so behind my back and thought I wouldn't notice."

"Julian is a piece of shit; always has been and always will be." Erza said, her disdain for the man in question clearly evident.

"Are you really that surprised that he was arrogant enough to do so again?"

"No," Irene said simply, "but he would be in a better standing with me if he was open and honest about the whole thing. At least I'd know he'd have the balls to look me in the eye when I put a bullet between his."

Jellal sighed heavily and massaged his brow.

"I have a feeling where this is going, but I have to ask; what do you want us to do about this?"

"Astute as ever Jellal, it's nice to know that getting shot and fucking my daughter senseless-to which I have no doubt you did last night-hasn't dulled your edge."

"Cut the shit." Both Erza and Jellal bit back, making Irene chortle in amusement.

"I want you two to remind Mister York of what happens to people when they think they can go behind my back and try to fuck me over. Remind him as to why he's had such good fortune with me as opposed to Acnologia and Zeref. And why he should continue to maintain that relationship."

"And if he refuses?" Jellal asked.

"Kill him." Irene said simply, without hesitation, "Or his two whores. Or all three of them altogether. Get creative, be brutal, be his worst fucking nightmare. I don't care what you have to do or when you do it; just get it done. Do this for me and maybe, just maybe, you'll be back on your way to repairing your good standing with me. Along with a small fee for your services, of course, Jellal."

Jellal sighed once more while Erza began to massage her temples, "Consider it done."

"Glad to hear. I'll be expecting your call." And with that, Irene ended the call.

"Bitch." Erza muttered.

Jellal shook his head and absentmindedly rubbed his bandage, wondering how his injury would impact the job that'd been forced onto them.

"She does realize you're still injured." Erza stated rather than asked as she inspected his side with a frown.

"I don't think she cares." Jellal sighed as he stood, "Might as well get this over with, I have to swing by my place anyway to get new gear. You still have that drawer with some of my spare clothes in it?"

He was about to move past her but Erza raised her hand against his shoulder, stopping him.

"Yes, I still have that drawer, but…" Erza said, giving him a sideways glance; her smile and voice mischievous.

"Why the rush?"

"Because I'm sure if we don't get this done in timely fashion, your mother will castrate me and do lord knows what to you." Jellal said matter of factly.

Erza shook her head and traced her fingers along his collar bone, making him shudder involuntarily.

"She said, and I quote, 'I don't care what you have to do or when you do it; just get it done'. Which means we have some leeway with this. We can plan things out… _and take our time._ "

There was no misconstruing the meaning of Erza's words and Jellal's lips tugged up at the corner.

"You're playing with fire, you know that right?"

"I like to think of it as being…practical." Erza said, "Are you insinuating that I'm proposing we stall for time, just to piss my mother off?"

"Yes, yes you are." Jellal said and leaned in to whisper, "And it's fucking turning me on right now."

"Same." Erza smirked.

"So…if you're so keen on planning this out, what do propose we do?"

"I'll change your bandage and clean your wound, from there we can stop by your place like you wanted to. After that…we'll figure it out it as we go along."

"Like everything else we do?" Jellal chuckled and kissed her.

"Like everything else we do…" Erza hummed, "but before all of that, I think the two of us could use a shower. A nice, hot, and long shower."

Erza began to back away, her eyes never leaving Jellal's, and stripped out of her panties and bandeau right then and there. He was hard in an instant and his breath caught in his throat. She sashayed to the hallway and gave him a sultry look over the shoulder.

"C'mon. You wash my back and I'll wash yours…if you catch my drift." She winked before disappearing down the hall.

Jellal double blinked out of his aroused shock and smiled, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

He was quick to follow after her-discarding his pants along the way-and by the time he reached her, the bathroom was already filled with steam and Erza expectantly standing beneath the water. They wouldn't leave until much later, when the water had run cold and Jellal being once again appreciative of Anna's stitching.

XXXX

A/N: And there we have it folks! All done!

This took me a lot longer to finish than I would have liked but, sadly, a full time job means full time responsibilities, especially in my line of work. The joys of being an adult, right?

You may have noticed but I didn't use the "L" word in this chapter because I feel it would detract somewhat from the tone of the story and the way I characterized Jellal and Erza. Instead, I tried to infer the mutual feelings between the two of them. Whether I pulled that off I'm not sure, but, here we are and I'm happy with the end result.

I hope you all enjoyed this short story and I hope this ending left you all satisfied. I still feel like this was still a little rusty on my part, but it was fun getting back into writing and hopefully I'll be able to crank out another update soon.

As for what's going to be updated next, I don't know myself; I'm planning on doing some editing/revising in between everything else so it's up in the air at this point. Just pay attention to your e-mail or story alerts at this point.

As per usual, if you guys have any comments or questions, please put it in your review and I'll make sure to respond to you in the next chapter. If you have anything else that you wish to ask me or clarify, you can PM me and I'll do my best to respond ASAP.

Until next time; read, review and most importantly of all, HAPPY READING! I'll see you in the next story!


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